


Make the World Afraid!

by theragingprophet



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horrortale, Alternate Universe - Mobtale, Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Alternate Universe - Underlust, Discussions of Eating Disorders, Food Issues, Implications of Cannibalism, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader is a (Surface) Monster, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, but your friends really care about you, it's not what they're thinking, nonbinary reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-06-01 03:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 53
Words: 60,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15134435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theragingprophet/pseuds/theragingprophet
Summary: You watched him unwrap his lunch, pouting.“C’mon, man. Not even a bite?” He started eating and you groaned dramatically. “I’m starving. I’m dying right in front of you. You’re killing me, Papyrus.”“good,” he muttered around a mouthful of food.“Wow, rude. I have no idea why we’re friends.” You sighed, eyeing the glittery burrito.“because you like to mooch off of me,” Papyrus snorted. He finished it off, cracking a grin when you whined in distress. “besides, y’know i only eat this because m’lord made it. he can always tell when i give it away. i’ll get ya something from a food truck later.”You nearly cried. “Thank you! I swear, I’ll pay you back when I’m a millionaire.”“so, never?”“I’ll try.”Papyrus shook his head with a grin, reaching out to pat your head. “guess that’s better than nothing.”You beamed, soaking up the affection. Papyrus always had your back.But… you were still sohungry. You worried that soon, food trucks wouldn’t be enough. Nothing would....arc one: The Happiest Town in Town | chapters 1-30, completearc two: Join the Family Business | chapters 31-??, in progress...





	1. make way! make way!

You idly scrolled through your phone, doing your best to ignore the other people on the train. There was somebody two seats down who was wheezing like they were dying, and a woman across from you that had what appeared to be a covered bird cage. Every once in a while, a strange rattling noise would come from it, and she would hit the side of it until whatever was in there shut up.

Just another morning in Ebott.

The night trains were worse - almost always filled with exhausted, angry people that just wanted to go home. It was nothing that you hadn't seen a million times before, but...

A few years ago, the world had changed dramatically.

Monsters had flooded out of Mt. Ebott - some cheerful and laid-back, some angry and violent, some of them even inexplicably sexy. There was one group that seemed like they had popped straight out of the 1920's, and dressed accordingly - usually with a nice tommy gun as an accessory.

The whole thing was a bit of a relief for you, really. With 'Underground' monsters stepping forward and introducing themselves to the world at large, the 'Surface' monsters had finally felt secure enough to do the same, allying themselves with the Undergrounders and offering their support.

It had been a big to-do, of course, but things had mainly settled down now. Or, so everyone had hoped.

But there were whispers floating around the Surfacer community, whispers of a committee to catalogue and keep an eye on any of the 'threatening' ones - like Vampires and Sirens, who typically killed humans in order to feed.

You didn't worry, though. There was no way something like that would go through - each community within the Surfacers took care of their own, making sure that no one got out of hand, and they worked together to make sure everybody stayed in the loop.

Even the new rash of hunters wasn't anything to be concerned about; the government was cracking down hard on those vigilantes, since most of them couldn't tell the difference between Surfacers and Undergrounders, the latter of which were protected by the highest court of the law.

Casually checking out your twitter feed, you saw a new #Surfacer tag trending.

#JusticeForAlison! #NoMore #Surfacer

You grimaced, moving past it quickly. A little demon girl had been killed in Oklahoma recently, after getting caught up in a violent protest against the town mayor's decision to pass laws protecting Surfacers against discrimination.

It had been a real shit-show, and you really didn't want to see any footage from the event again.

Instead, you switched over to your texts, noticing that Papyrus had texted you about fifteen minutes ago. You must have missed it somehow.

_*you coming to work today or what?_

You huffed, feeling a bit offended at his lack of faith in you. So what if you had been late for the past two days? You had a lot going on!

You texted him back, deciding to be a little snippy about it.

***For your information, I don't come in until noon today. By the time I get there, I'll probably be early, you jerk.**

A second later, you panicked and sent him another quick text.

***jk I love you. But seriously, I'm almost there.**

Whew, that saved you. You knew that Papyrus couldn't give less of a shit about you calling him names, but it was hard to get across the teasing tone that you meant in text messages, so it didn't hurt to have some insurance.

Especially since you always counted on him for lunch.

What? You were a starving twenty-something living in the big city in a shitty apartment with two other roommates - you would take what you could get.

_*okay okay. btw theres pizza in the break room, i made sure to save a few slices for u_

Shit, you could cry. What a perfect man. You would absolutely die for him without question.

***Marry me. We could have a spring wedding.**

_*lol no. my bro would kill me_

You pouted, sending back a sad emoji. Papyrus's brother was a pretty cool guy once you got to know him, but he was a haughty little asshole for sure. You figured he didn't consider you to be up to his - and thus his brother's - standards. At least, marriage-wise.

Sans had reluctantly allowed you to be his younger brother's _friend_ once you had proved that you meant them no harm, and that you could defeat him in Mario Kart, which had lead to you going over to the brothers' apartment many a night for him to demand a rematch. He'd only beaten you a couple of times in the many matches you'd had, which only seemed to spur him on.

Plus he always made you food, and allowed you to take home any of the leftovers, which made him an awesome guy in your book.

You were really grateful to have met them. There were a lot of skeletons named Sans and Papyrus that wandered around Ebott city, but those two were undoubtedly your favorites.

Well, the apartment your neighborhood was in was controlled by that really snazzy Mob Sans and he seemed nice enough, but he had never given you food, so he was delegated to second place.

When the train pulled to a stop at your station, you rushed out into the subway, eager to bite into that delicious, lukewarm pizza.

You practically bowled people over in your haste to get through the city streets, calling out apologies over your shoulder when you actually did knock into anyone.

Pulling out your keycard, you impatiently waited for the door scanner at the backdoor of _Jumpy Happy Mecha!_ the car repair shop you worked at, to clock you in, dying to get at your promised lunch.

When it finally beeped, indicating that you were allowed into the workshop, you shoved the door open and ran to the break room, looking for that sweet, sweet release.

And it was - !

It was _gone._

" _Jerry_ ," you snarled, staring down at your ufo-shaped coworker.

He stuffed the last piece of pizza inside his _stupid, greasy face_ , sneering at you. "What? Got something to say?"

Huffing, you stomped off to the tiny closet space that you and Papyrus shared, dumping your bag and coat inside. One of these days, Jerry, _one of these days..._

"oh, you're here," Papyrus said, leaning back against the doorframe as you turned to reenter the main room. He was wearing his usual work attire - a thin tank top and pair of pants that gave him a less edgy air than when he was in his long furred coat. "just in time."

"In time for _what?_ " you said grumpily, still a bit bummed that Jerry had gotten to the food before you could.

In a grand gesture, Papyrus pulled his other hand out from behind his back, brandishing a paper plate with five pieces of pizza stacked high.

"food, of course. i said i would save you some, didn't i?"

You felt tears welling up in your eyes.

Thanking him sincerely, you scarfed down the food, barely pausing to breathe. Papyrus merely watched with a lazy grin, having long since gotten used to your eating habits.

"Are you sure we can't get married?" you said, once you finally had enough air.

"hm... well, maybe if you treat me _real_ nice," Papyrus teased, reaching out to ruffle your hair.

"Dude, if you give me food everyday, I'll treat you however you want."

Still, though, you were smiling. Damn, were you ever lucky to have friends like this.

As the two of you chatted casually and moved into the workshop to get started, your stomach growled.

...You were still hungry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: i swear to god, one of these days i'm gonna roast you on a spit, jerry  
> jerry: lol where you gonna get it you cheap bitch  
> you: ...one day
> 
> ahhhh! i hope y'all enjoy this one, it's been seriously fun to write so far. got any idea of what kinda monster the reader is? wanna chat/have any questions? hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love you all <3


	2. make way for the funeral procession

"Felix... I'm so sorry. I never wanted it to come to this."

"No, please!"

"I have no choice! She took my family!"

"There has to be another way, please just _don't_ \- "

"Too late," you said, slapping down the Wild Draw Four card. Felix cried out dramatically, miming as if he'd been shot. You sighed in mock-resignation, dragging over the huge pile of paper money you'd just taken.

"The way you guys play Monopoly is fucking weird," Meanly said, sipping on his drink as Felix slumped over in despair. "Since when was it an option to kidnap somebody?"

"Kidnapping is _always_ an option," Kenan said primly, counting the Monopoly money that you handed over to her reluctantly. "It's not my fault if they continually fail to safeguard against it."

"Maybe we would actually buy security if it wasn't _twenty thousand dollars a property,_ " Felix said, his ears twitching irritably.

"Yeah, especially since _you_ own the security company, Kenan," you added, elbowing her in the side.

Your roommate took it in stride, smirking at the game's losers. "Next time, make sure you get the right property then."

"There _is_ no property for the security company!" Felix said, throwing his arms up. "You just made it up, and whenever we try to dispute it, you - "

Kenan glared. Felix swallowed audibly, and you wisely kept to yourself.

"Uh, never mind."

"That's what I thought," Kenan sniffed, going back to picking through her spoils of war.

Meanly snorted, shaking his head in a way that made his long ears flop to the side.

"You guys are so fucking bizarre," he said, but it was almost fond, so you didn't take offense. You even noticed the way he was holding Felix's hand under the table, and you resisted the urge to coo.

When you first met Felix, he had been a stuttering ball of nerves that was convinced his life was over before it had even had a chance to begin, and now? Well, _now_ he was living in a shitty apartment with you and Kenan and got his ass beat in boardgames all the time, but the feline monster seemed a lot happier too.

Going to law school was tough, but you could tell that it was genuinely what he wanted. He wanted to make a difference in the world, and he wanted to help out the Undergrounders that were still having trouble getting rights. Like Meanly, a scarred up bunny monster who was from the 'Underfell' version of the Underground.

Meanly could be a real bastard when he wanted to be, but he was also so adorable with Felix that it almost made your teeth rot from sweetness. They had met when Felix had been interviewing the Underfell monsters that had yet to be granted their visas, and it must have been something like love at first sight.

Well, considering the fact that Felix had just punched a human reporter in the face in front of Meanly, it was probably more like an instant boner, but you could romanticize it just a little bit.

"So what's your schedule like for tomorrow?" Felix said, propping himself back up and looking at you expectantly. "Gonna go hang out with your _boyfriends_ again?"

You rolled your eyes. "They are _not_ my boyfriends. But yeah, most likely. Sans texted me this morning to say that he wanted another Mario Kart race, so I'll head over with Papyrus after work."

Felix shuddered, and even Meanly wrinkled his nose with a strange expression.

"It's so weird to hear you say that, especially when I know who you're talking about," Felix complained, letting out a huff. "In my Underground, Sans and Papyrus were just a couple of crazy dudes who came into my job and tried to order _spaghetti_ of all things. And Razz used to be the Captain of the Royal Guard! Talk about a major switch."

"No kidding," Meanly said dryly. "Edge was always tough, but his brother was like a sweaty little Chihuahua. Seeing Razz run around, commanding everybody, it's weird as hell."

"Yeah, I guess that whole situation is rather... strange, isn't it?" Kenan said thoughtfully, having finished stacking her money into neat piles. "And no one knows how all these different timelines came together?"

"Not yet," you shook your head. "The different Royal Scientists are working on it, but the origin of the phenomenon remains largely unknown as of now."

The other three looked at you strangely, likely wondering how _you_ knew anything about it, and you just shrugged in reply.

"Papyrus, uh, _Slim_ , is friends with his timeline's Royal Scientist, Undyne. They talk over drinks a lot, and I've tagged along once in a while. She's nice. Super intense, though."

You could never remember to use the skeleton brothers nicknames when you were around other people. To you, they were just Sans and Papyrus. Remembering to call them Razz and Slim was a bit of a hassle, to be honest.

Still, you could understand how the others might find it confusing, or even unnerving. You'd had some moments where you thought you'd spotted one of your pals, only to have to awkwardly speed-walk away when it turned out to be someone from a different timeline.

That didn't happen very often - thanks to a keen sense of smell that usually allowed you to keep track of who was who - but it did happen.

"Well, no matter how interesting it is, it doesn't change the facts - and the facts are that you two lost," Kenan declared, holding her hand out demandingly. "And _that_ means that you better pay up. I want Italian tonight."

Grudgingly, you and Felix both offered a few crumpled bills, letting her leave to order the food.

After a moment, your sour mood was pierced through with a _very_ inappropriate joke involving eating Italian and one of your neighbors, Piero. Heh, you'd have to tell that one to Papyrus later - he was one of the only guys around who shared your gross sense of humor.

"Seriously though, you're gonna be with Slim and Razz tomorrow, right?" Felix said, drawing your attention back to him.

When you nodded, a bit confused by the continuing line of question, he sighed in relief. He and Meanly exchanged a glance, worry lining their faces.

"There's been attacks at night recently," Meanly explained quietly, keeping his head down as if to block out any prying eyes. "That 'Mobtale' Sans controls this area, so there's been nothing directly around here, but my side of the city is getting hit bad. No Undergrounders have been dusted yet, but a couple were attacked, and at least one Vampire was killed."

You sucked in a breath through your teeth. That was _bad_. "A hunter, you think?"

He nodded, expression grim. "That's the general assumption, yeah. Just... stay with the skeleton brothers, and be safe, okay?"

You thought about protesting, saying something about how _no_ hunter, no matter how skilled, could ever measure up to you, but seeing the naked concern on their faces was enough to still your tongue.

They didn't know. They didn't know what you _were_ , what you had done. They knew you were a surface monster, but not what type - and you wanted to keep it that way.

"I understand," you said, hands curling into fists under the table. "I'll be careful."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: don't worry haha i know exactly what i'm doing  
> everyone else: ...
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think! and hey, wanna chat/have a question? hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love you all <3


	3. of the maker of monsters!

"I hope you know that I expect compensation for this," you said, huffing with exertion as you lugged the duffle bag along with you. And your exhaustion wasn't entirely exaggerated, either - you'd spent a long day lugging around car parts, only to be thrown a bag that had to be filled with _bricks._

"m'lord is making dinner," Papyrus said easily, hands in his pockets. He, of course, was completely fine with the bag that he was holding. He definitely gave you the heavier one, the bastard.

"Well, I suppose I can accept that," you said, turning away from him to sniff in a mock-disdainful manner. "But I better get the biggest portion."

"oh believe me, I have absolutely _no_ problem with that," Papyrus muttered under his breath, forcing you to smother a laugh.

Sans's cooking left much to be desired, even if he had apparently improved a lot from his time in the Underground. You didn't care, though - you'd scarf down any food that was put in front of you. Sometimes you would also eat things that wouldn't be strictly described as 'edible', not that you allowed such restrictions to be placed on you.

So what if plastic was 'not good for the digestive system'?? You were hungry. And you could've sworn that the apple was real. How were you supposed to know that it was decorative?

Yum... sweet, plastic apples. Even _that_ was sounding good right now.

"hey, love, you're drooling again."

"Huh, what?" You said intelligently, wiping at your chin. It was completely dry.

You pouted, fixing him with an irritated glare. His grin was entirely unrepentant.

"Let's just get to your place already," you grumbled, shouldering the bag. "I'm hungry."

"you're always hungry," Papyrus shot back, though he obediently reached out to place his hand on your shoulder, preparing to shortcut the two of you to the apartment the brothers shared.

"Exactly. Feed me, Seymour."

Papyrus's bark of surprised laughter was cut off by your entrance into the void, leaving you with a very self-satisfied smirk.

This was going to be fun. No thinking about hunters, or disappearing monsters, or the never-ending hunger.

You were going to have fun or die trying.

...

"TOOK YOU TWO LONG ENOUGH. DID YOU ENJOY YOUR BOONDOGGLING?" Sans snapped, arms crossed against his chest. He was wearing a frilly white apron, and looked like every stereotype of a nagging housewife that had ever existed.

"I'm home, honey!" "sorry m'lord. and yes, we did enjoy the boondoggling."

Sans rolled his eyelights, making an effort to look put-out, but a tiny smirk was tugging at his mouth.

"WHATEVER. JUST GET IN THE KITCHEN ALREADY, IT'S TIME TO EAT."

Okay, _now_ you were drooling for sure.

"Thank you Sans! I'm just gonna go help myself, okay?" You dumped the bag onto the ground, uncaring of the way the contents shifted around, and raced into the kitchen, intent on getting first dibs before those damn skeletons could outnumber you.

"WHY CAN'T YOU EVER REACT LIKE THAT WHEN I OFFER YOU FOOD?"

"but i do run, m'lord."

"YEAH, IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!"

"i live to please."

You didn't pay any attention to the two of them bickering, giving yourself a heaping plate of spaghetti. This was actually one of Sans's better dishes, so it was a reason to get pumped if there ever was one.

"LEAVE SOME FOR US!" Sans complained, though you saw the proud edge to his expression. For a guy from a 'Fell' universe, he really seemed to enjoyed being able to care for people, to provide for them.

You'd probably call him your Sugar Daddy if you didn't think he'd stab you for it.

"Psh. First come, first serve," you said around a mouthful of noodles, slurping them up obnoxiously.

Sans made a disgusted noise, but Papyrus only smirked. He really did have the same sense of humor as you.

Oh! That reminded you!

"Hey, Paps, wanna hear my new cannibalism joke?" You said seriously, only letting your facade break a little when Sans groaned loudly.

"OH, DON'T YOU TWO START. I WOULD LIKE TO GET THROUGH THIS MEAL WITHOUT HAVING TO DEAL WITH YOUR HORRIBLE JAPES FOR ONCE."

Papyrus shrugged, perfectly casual.

"okay, m'lord. i mean, i've been _starving_ for some new material, but i suppose i could hold off for now. don't wanna _bite off more than i can chew._ "

"UGH!"

You laughed freely, barely avoiding a snort as you tried not to spit out your food. This was why you loved hanging out with these guys. Good food and good company. What more could you want?

…

Unbeknownst to you, the two brothers exchanged a satisfied look upon hearing your laugh. You had been in a strange mood as of late, interchangeably irritated and mournful.

They weren't ignorant to the disappearances happening around the city. With Razz as a member of the monster section of the police force, it would be impossible for him to be oblivious to such an obvious string of crimes.

One killing had even happened in _his sector,_ which was entirely unacceptable. He refused to allow this case to get away from him - out of professional regard, of course, not out of any concern for your wellbeing. That would be ridiculous.

Papyrus had always kept an eye socket on these types of crimes, ever since he and his brother reached the surface. Things may be 'better' up here, but he wasn't willing to compromise when it came to his brother's safety. And now, he had someone else to look after too, so he had to work twice as hard. He didn't mind, of course. He lived for this shit.

So for now, they would take your mind off of it. It would be easier for them to forget about it if they knew what type of monster you were, but...

Any attempts to find out had been met with varying levels of nervousness - from faintly amused to actually pissed-off.

The one person who had managed to make you pissed off had been given a _very bad time._

But the brothers didn't want to push. Despite your laid-back attitude, it had taken you a surprisingly long time to trust them unconditionally. They didn't want to taint that by asking for more than you were willing to give.

(Which was also why they hadn't brought up the underlying attraction that was so obvious between the three of you. It wasn't the time.)

"NOW, LET US RETIRE TO THE LIVING ROOM! I HAVE A GREAT BATTLE TO WIN!"

"A great battle to _lose,_ you mean."

"hm... who knows? maybe the great underdog, papyrus, will finally - "

"NO, PAPY." "I doubt it, dude."

"hmph. it could happen."

You chuckled, flashing that sweet grin that they had grown so fond of. "Maybe in an alternate universe, pal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: hey, what's that thing over there?  
> plot point: *waving frantically*  
> swapfell bros: don't worry about it. it's nothing. 
> 
> lol, hope y'all are enjoying!! it's been really cool to see everyone's predictions so far, keep it up! we'll be meeting some new skeletons next chapter, so look forward to that! and hey; wanna chat/have a question? hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love you all <3


	4. listen to our tale of woe,

When you woke up, back aching from laying on the skeleton brothers' shitty couch, you could already tell that it was gonna be a bad day.

Sometimes, that just happened. You would wake up, look around, and think;  _ 'Okay. I guess this is what's gonna happen today.' _

It was only five o'clock in the morning, not even early enough for Sans to be awake, so you sat up on the couch and pulled your knees to your chest. Grabbing your phone, you began to numbly scroll through your twitter feed, not actually reading any one single word, but instead glazing over blocks of text with nothing gained from it.

Your stomach growled, and you studiously ignored it with the practice of a lifetime. But it didn't help solve the problem, of course, and you couldn't help but sigh as you dropped your phone back on the couch and buried your head in your hands.

Why did this always happen to you? It wasn't instincts, you knew that much. You had never been much of an instinctual creature, despite the way your kind typically operated. You liked to go with the flow, take things as they come.

Impulsive was the exact  _ opposite _ of what you were.

But sometimes... Sometimes you would get in a mood. A mood where you just wanted to  _ run. _ You wanted to escape, dart off into the woods and never be seen by civilization again.

Ha...

That was probably really dumb, right? Right, of course. You had shit to do, you couldn't go live out in the woods and feast on berries for the rest of your life.

(Though berries would probably not be your main source of food.)

"you awake?" came the quiet whisper, and you raised your head to see Papyrus plodding over to you, raising a hand to catch a yawn.

"If I wasn't, I certainly am now that you're here," you said, shooting him a pair of double finger guns and a wink.

He smiled, but there was something unreadable in his eye sockets. "...you okay?"

You shrugged. You'd never been one for lying, and you admittedly did feel pretty shitty right now, but you didn't want to burden him with your problems. Better to just get out of here before you started venting and said something that you might regret.

"I'll be fine," you said, rising from the couch and grabbing your jacket from where it was slung over the back. "I should probably get going, though. Don't wanna overstay my welcome. Well, actually it's because I have the new Animal Crossing game and I don't wanna neglect my town, but... You understand."

You added a cheesy wink for effect, but he didn't seem to buy it.

"it's five in the morning," Papyrus said flatly. Somehow, you got the feeling that he was a little upset with you -  which really only made you more eager to leave.

Did you do something wrong?  _ Say _ something wrong?

"Ha, yeah, well," you stumbled over your words, now more intent than ever to get moving. “You know how it is. Those pixelated flowers aren’t gonna water themselves!”

"...right," he said. Papyrus reached down, as if he was trying to stick his hands in his pockets, only to realize at the last second that he wasn't wearing his coat. It left him standing there awkwardly, looking more off-balance than you had ever seen him. "do ya want me to - ah, i mean... wanna walk together?"

You smiled, the tension on your face finally softening. Papyrus was trying to help you out, but without damaging your pride. He really was a good guy.

"Nah, I'm okay dude," you said, feeling a bit more like your usual self at the kindness your friend was showing you. "I know that this is like, your one day off. Get some sleep and text me later, okay? I'll shoot you a text to let you know that I got home safe."

His orange tongue flicked out, running across his golden fangs in a nervous gesture, but he nodded.

"sounds like a plan."

You gave him a jaunty wave goodbye, but even as you stepped out of the apartment you could feel his eyes on you as you walked down the street. Ha, what a worrywart.

Sticking your hands in your pockets, you looked up at the sky. It seemed like a whole different world at five in the morning. The vampires were asleep and the humans were only just starting to wake up. Time to go back to the mundane.

It was... nice, really, to have the world be so open about things. Almost your entire life, you had been forced to live in hiding, always afraid to be caught off-guard and hunted down. With your kind, it was especially common. Even the clans weren't always around to help, and you were hardly their first priority. Hell, there were plenty of groups that thought you and your cousins would be better off if you were 'put down'!

Now, you had a job. You had friends, you had a  _ life. _ Sure, you also had the hunger, but there was nothing new about that. 

You were just so incredibly grateful for what you had gained, and you never wanted to forget that.

...

Nearing your neighborhood, you could hear the sounds of people finally starting to get up. It was only about a twenty minute walk from the brothers' place, so it was to be expected.

But then you saw something that was...  _ not _ as expected.

On the steps of your apartment building, was a skeleton. One that you hadn't seen before, either.

He was tall, head nearly grazing the doorframe of the building. He was wearing a full pinstripe suit, and a fancy looking fedora. He was leaning casually against the door, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the street.

His skull turned to face you as you walked up, and the broad grin he gave you made him instantly appear less threatening.

"HELLO, CIVILIAN! DO YOU LIVE IN THIS BUILDING?"

"Uh, I sure do," you answered distractedly, trying to peek past him. "Is there something going on?"

"OH, WELL," he paused, seeming like he was searching for what to say. "THERE HAS BEEN AN... INCIDENT. A MURDER, I BELIEVE. BUT DON'T WORRY, MY BROTHER IS TAKING CARE OF IT!"

"A  _ murder?" _ you said, shocked. Sure, that kind of thing might happen outside, but  _ in _ your apartment building? There was so many Surfacers there that most criminals steered clear. Well, except for the Surfacers that were  _ also _ criminals.

Hm. Perhaps that should have been the first clue.

"Sorry to be a bother, but do you happen to know the apartment number?" you asked, trying not to just take out your phone and start calling Felix and Kenan right away.

"3-B, I BELIEVE!"

Your soul dropped straight to your stomach, and your hands were now shaking in earnest.

_ That was your apartment. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: what the fuck is happening??  
> mobtale papyrus: it's the plot-point, silly!
> 
> here we go y'all, buckle up! we'll be meeting new people and making friends (or enemies?) in this arc, so i hope you all enjoy! i totally love hearing your theories by the way, this is such a fun world to mess around with! stay tuned for more! and hey, wanna chat/have a question? hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com). love y'all! <3


	5. a story we must tell.

"E-Excuse me!" you said, moving to try and go past him. Almost as if on reflex, the tall skeleton monster shot out his arm, blocking you from getting through the door.

"PLEASE, CIVILIAN, IT IS BEST IF YOU STAY - "

"That's  _ my _ apartment!" you near-shouted, clenching your fists to hold back the desire to just shove him out of the way. "I need to go make sure everything's okay, so please let me through!"

"I CANNOT DO THAT RIGHT NOW, IT IS NOT SAFE," he said adamantly. Gently, he pulled you back away from the door, calmly ignoring the scathing look you shot him. "PLEASE REMAIN HERE FOR NOW. MY BROTHER WILL BE BACK SHORTLY, AND HE WILL NO DOUBT BE HAPPY TO INFORM YOU OF THE SITUATION."

You nearly snarled, biting your lip at the last second to stop yourself. First, he was keeping you away from your home, from  _ your people, _ and now he had the nerve to  _ manhandle _ you? No matter how good the intentions,  _ you did not like it _ when someone randomly tried to touch you. You had only barely gotten used to it with the skeleton brothers, and they weren't particularly touchy guys in the first place.

Still, though, you kept yourself under control. You were not a slave to your instincts, and you would not start anything violent with this poor monster that was just trying to keep you safe. You were still majorly pissed-off, of course, but there was no reason to take it out on this guy.

Just relax.  _ Breathe. _ You'll be fine, and no doubt your roommates will be too. Felix was a resourceful guy who had managed to squeeze himself out of some pretty tight spots in the past - literally. Kenan was just difficult to kill, period.

If anything, it was more likely that Kenan had murdered someone in your apartment, though you still hoped not, for the sake of your long-time friend's arrest record.

When you finally looked up, having calmed yourself down a bit, it was to the skeleton gazing at you, carefully blocking the way into the apartment building. He didn't seem to be... angry, as if that was any consolation. You would almost have preferred that he was, if only so that you could justify blowing up on him the way you had.

Instead, you sighed, scratching the back of your head in embarrassment. 

"I... I'm sorry," you said, only a little begrudging. "I suppose I kind of freaked out there, huh? My bad. Didn't mean to scream at you like that, dude."

He tilted his head to the side, seeming rather amused at your words. "THAT'S QUITE ALRIGHT, CIVILIAN! I KNOW THAT THIS SORT OF THING CAN BE VERY STRESSFUL, AND IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT IT IS HAPPENING TO YOU ON SUCH AN EARLY MORNING."

"No kidding," you muttered, smothering a yawn even as you spoke. This was way earlier than you usually got up.

"LET'S START OVER!" he suggested, holding his hand out to you with a cheerful grin. "MY NAME IS PAPYRUS! BUT, SEEING AS I AM ONE OF MANY PAPYRUS IN THIS CITY, MOST PEOPLE CALL ME GUNNER! YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS EITHER, AT YOUR CONVENIENCE."

You blinked, a little thrown, before shaking his hand and offering your own name in return. You had... kinda guessed that he was a Papyrus, simply based on his height and general facial structure, but it was rather odd to see how far off he was from the Papyrus that you knew.

Papyrus never really raised his voice above a quiet murmur, and this guy seemed like he couldn't use an 'inside' voice if his life depended on it. Which, being in the mob, it probably did.

Well, just goes to show that he was good at his job. You could respect that.

Only mere moments after the two of you had finally settled into a more friendly dialogue, did another skeleton emerge from the apartment building.

He was of a more stocky build, but in the same fancy clothing - the brother, it seemed.

"OH, CIVILIAN!" Papyrus said, gesturing to his brother with a huge grin on his face. "THIS IS MY BROTHER, SANS. OR SNIPE, AS HE IS KNOWN."

You waved, Sans giving a little bemused wave back, before turning to his brother.

"i'll be honest... don't really know what to make of it. the lady and the cat said they'd never seen the guy before, and they don't know how he got into the apartment. a real locked door mystery on our hands."

You straightened your back, feeling hope spark within you at the words. It sounded like...

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt," you interjected, drawing his attention back to you. "I also live in the apartment where the incident occurred, would you mind telling me what happened?"

He blinked, his sharp red eyelights studying you for a moment, but then he shrugged in an easy motion. 

"sure. follow me, maybe you'll know something that i don't."

His tone was casual, but you couldn't help the way your smile twitched at the unspoken threat. This was really turning out to be a shitty day, and if this guy started antagonizing you, there was no guarantee you wouldn't be adding your own murder to this case. 

"I WILL REMAIN HERE ON GUARD!" Papyrus said, though he seemed genuinely regretful as he let you in. "STAY SAFE, CIVILIAN!"

You gave him a smile - a real one, as you passed by. He was sweet, even if he was absolutely nothing like the Papyrus that you knew. 

Walking briskly up the steps, you tried in vain to ignore the presence of the skeleton monster only two steps behind you. It wasn't easy, considering that he was absolutely walking closer to you than necessary, and you kept seeing flashes of crimson magic out of the corner of your eye, but you were doing your best.

He didn't say a single word, not even to explain what you would be walking in on, but at this point you didn't even care. You just wanted to make sure that your roommates were alright.

Finally reaching your apartment door, your hand hovered over the doorknob for a second, afraid of what you might find on the other side, but you steeled your nerves and threw open the door.

In your immediate view as soon as you had entered the apartment, was a body. There was previous wounds all over it, particularly the torso and left arm, but curiously... you couldn't see any bloodstains, either on the body, clothes, or the carpeting.

And, perhaps most importantly -

"I have no fucking idea who this guy is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: okay, now i'm even more confused than before  
> everyone else: join the fucking club
> 
> hey, y'all ready for a game of clue?? 'cause we got a body and a location, time to figure out everything else! lol, hope you're all enjoying, and please lemme know what you think. wanna chat/have a question? hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	6. what happened in there

"Ya got no clue?" Sans said persistently, dragging you forward a step so that you could see the corpse a little better. "No jilted lover, no wicked stepfather? Nothing?"

"Absolutely nothing," you confirmed, shrugging when Sans let out a slew of curses.

He let go of you to stand beside the body, hands on his hips, and his expression absolutely exasperated.

"Never had to deal with this shit before," he grumbled, almost inaudibly. Anyone other than you probably wouldn't have heard it, anyway. "When someone died in the Underground, there was just dust, and nobody bothered to hide their motives. Fuck."

You winced, feeling a little bad for him. Now that you knew it wasn't one of your roommates that was killed, you felt yourself calming down almost immediately. You were actually a bit embarrassed of how hysterical you had been acting before...

Kenan poked her head out from the kitchen, eyes widening when she saw you standing there. She hurried forward, dragging you into a desperate embrace.

You blinked in surprise, flailing for a moment before awkwardly hugging her back, wondering what had brought this on. "Ken, you okay? What happened?"

She merely shivered, holding onto you for a long moment, before letting go with a sigh. "I'm... alright. As well as I can be, anyway. Felix left after the first round of questioning, he was pretty shaken up. I believe he's going to be staying with Meanly for now. And... I, I don't know. I woke up around midnight, and I  _ screamed _ \- I, I just couldn't hold it back, and it had been so long since that happened to me, I was worried that  _ you _ had been - "

Kenan didn't say anymore, pulling you back into a hug as she shuddered at the idea. You clutched onto her just as tight, finally understanding why she was so upset.

As a banshee, Kenan had unique abilities that were impossible for her to control. Whenever someone that was important to her life was dying, she would release a horrid, wailing scream that caused misery and pain to everyone that heard it.

You had only witnessed such a thing once, when her mother had died. The amount of suffering it caused her... You never wanted to see something like that again.

For so long, Kenan had kept herself away from others, because she didn't want to get attached and end up mourning for them in this way. Banshees were part of the Fae family, after all, and had much longer lifespans than humans, and even most types of Surfacers. 

The only people she was currently close enough to for a scream to emerge were you, Felix, and Meanly. And seeing that Felix and Meanly had both been accounted for...

It must have been terrifying for her.

And you were just asleep on the brothers' couch the whole time. Go figure.

"It's alright, Ken," you said soothingly, patting her gently on the back. "I'm okay, and I'm sorry that I worried you."

She just shook her head, pulling back from you to wipe her eyes. "It's alright, really. I was just... I was just scared."

You only nodded, knowing not to push her on it with someone else in the room. Sans was standing a few feet away from the two of you, and was studiously examining the body, even though he seemed rather embarrassed to be in the vicinity of such a display.

"You screamed for him, then?" You asked, getting things back on track. 

Sans perked up at that, coming over to stand beside you. "yeah, what the fuck was that? if ya don't know the guy, why scream for him?"

Kenan frowned thoughtfully, studying the body even as she wrapped her arms around herself, clearly not fully recovered from the ordeal. 

"It's hard to say, really," she said, shrugging. "I don't technically have to know the person. Their death just has to be important to me, specifically. One way or another. It's happened to plenty of banshees before, especially around wartime, but not me."

_ Wartime... _ huh?

You and Sans exchanged a glance, completely in-synch for that one moment. You both knew what that meant. This probably wasn't a singular incident - it was the start of something  _ big. _

Frowning, you broke eye-contact with the skeleton and stepped forward, examining the body a bit more thoroughly.

A middle-aged male, completely unknown to you. And even though he had fairly bad wounds, the blood was already crusted over. Clearly, this murder had happened some time ago, probably around midnight if Kenan's sense of timing was to be trusted.

Which means that someone killed this poor bastard, and then went out of their way to dump him in this apartment. There was no way this wasn't personal. Why else would someone choose  _ this _ apartment specifically, on the  _ third floor? _

This was a warning. Of what, you didn't know.

While pondering all of this, you almost missed something. A scent that made your nose twitch - a scent you  _ recognized. _

Well, not specifically, but you knew what this smell meant.

"Werewolf," you announced grimly, catching Kenan and Sans off-guard. They had been talking quietly to each other in the background, staying out of the way of your superior senses as you checked out the scene. "I don't know him personally, but he's definitely a werewolf. Most of his scent has been masked by something though, kinda hard to pick out."

"masked?" Sans said curtly, eyelights darting up and down the corpse as he tried to find anything to help your theory.

"Mhm." You nodded, and bit your lip, trying to think of how to explain. "I can't say exactly how... Hunters use scent dampeners sometimes, but I don't think that's it. They never bother to use them on their victims - what would be the point? And there are some types of creatures that can mask a scent like this, but - "

You cut yourself off, freezing in place. Sans didn't notice, reaching out to nudge the body with his foot, but Kenan certainly did.

She raised an eyebrow at you, and you subtly shook your head in return. You couldn't discuss it now, not while Sans was here.

"well, thanks for the info," Sans said, letting out a sigh as he grabbed the rim of his fedora. "i'll get some of my own people on this, see what they can do. you two got anywhere you can stay? probably isn't safe to live here, at least for right now."

Kenan nodded, holding up her phone to show a text displayed on the screen. "Meanly already said that we were welcome to stay at his place."

You shrugged, willing to go along with it, even though your mind had immediately flashed to the skeleton brothers. "Sounds good."

Kenan rolled her eyes, tossing her thick hair over her shoulder as she gave you a deadpan look.  _ "You _ are going to have to find somewhere else, buddy. He's only got one couch, and I've already called dibs."

You scowled at her, even as you fought down an embarrassed blush. She always knew what you were thinking.

"you'll be okay?" Sans interjected, staring at you with something almost like concern.

You found yourself smiling at him for the first time, touched by the intention. "Yeah, I have somewhere to go."

You then let out a snort, remembering how this day had began. "I was actually just there. Hope they don't mind me ending up on their doorstep again."

The three of you shared a quiet laugh, exhausted by everything that had happened in such a short range of time. As Kenan and Sans began to discuss what would be done with the apartment, you felt your mind wander.

You didn't want to consider it. You didn't want to consider why. But there was one other, concrete way you could imagine someone erasing their victim's scent like this.

They could do it... if they were like  _ you. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: well, we all gotta die sometime. and i plan to die with all of my secrets intact, thank you  
> kenan: not on my watch, buddy
> 
> hey y'all, early update! don't worry, i'll still update on sunday. hope you're all enjoying, and if you wanna chat/have a question, hit me up on [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	7. made our lives a living hell!

"WELL, WELL, WELL. LOOK WHO'S COME CRAWLING BACK!" 

"Yeah..." you rubbed the back of your neck, feeling a bit sheepish after all the commotion this morning. "Sorry, Sans. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Sans scoffed, arms crossed over the chest of his silken pajamas. "AS IF! IT IS ALMOST NINE O'CLOCK! WHY WOULD I STILL BE ASLEEP?"

You smothered a laugh, hiding your smirk with your hand. "Mm, that's true."

"OF COURSE! NOW... WHY ARE YOU HERE, EXACTLY? MY BROTHER TOLD ME THAT YOU HAD ALREADY RETURNED HOME EARLY THIS MORNING! DID YOU FORGET SOMETHING AGAIN?" Sans demanded, placing his hands on his hips in a demanding stance. 

Biting your lip, your eyes cast downwards. Sans followed your field of vision, and saw your backpack, stuffed to the brim, sitting by your feet.

He stiffened.

"Get inside." Sans ordered, grabbing your arm to pull you in. You yelped, barely managing to snag your bag in time, but allowed him to drag you into the apartment.

As soon as you were inside, he turned back to the door and methodically began redoing all of the locks, making you wince in shame. Sans had always been scarily perceptive, even on his worst days, and you had been around to witness quite a few of those. None of them had ever surrounded you, personally, though. And with him dropping his uppercase speech, he must have been really serious about this.

"What happened?" he said again, once you had dropped yourself onto the couch with a drawn-out sigh.

Ah, your old friend. It seemed like it had been forever since you'd last laid upon its magnificence... Even if it was actually only a couple of hours ago. God, you were so tired. Hopefully, you could get through this interrogation quick and finally take a nap.

"Someone went and got themselves murdered, and the body was dumped in our apartment," you scowled, glancing back to see Sans watching you, taking in your words with the utmost concentration. "Kenan screamed for him, but she didn't know who he was, and me 'n Felix also had no clue."

"was he a surfacer?" a new voice interrupted, and you looked over to see Papyrus standing in the hallway to the bedrooms. He was rubbing at his eye sockets, and you felt a little bad for waking him up, but you'd find a way to make it up to him later. This was important, even though you'd pretty much prefer to be doing anything else right now.

"Yeah, werewolf," you confirmed. "I could smell it on him after a closer inspection."

You thought about whether to tell them about the weird scenting issue, but found yourself hesitating. They didn't really need to know that, did they? You didn't want them to get any more involved in this than they already were - these two had more than enough on their plate already.

Also, Sans was a police officer. You trusted him, of  _ course _ you did, but you also knew that he took his work very seriously. You would never want to put him in that kind of position - choosing between his friends and his duty.

You refused to ask that of him.

"Do you think it could be related to the dustings?" Sans said lowly, striding up to stand beside you. Papyrus moved into the room as well, except he decided to be a jerk and sit on your legs.

You shot him a sour look, but didn't try to make him move. It wasn't like he was particularly heavy or anything, especially for you. But then you turned back to Sans, bringing your attention to the matter at hand.

"I don't think so," you said, shaking your head. "I  _ know _ hunters. I know how they operate. And, honestly... They're not this smart, or this stealthy. Someone managed to break into the apartment while Kenan and Felix were in there, asleep, without tipping anyone off. Not to mention, since Kenan screamed for him, this was likely a deliberate attack."

"another surfacer, then?" Papyrus said, his calm tone belying the sharp edge to his gaze. "they going after one of you?"

You shrugged, trying not to seem too concerned with the whole thing. "I guess? Hard to say. Weirder things have happened in this world than magically appearing corpses. And, well... Kenan has pretty much no enemies that I know of, and even less friends. Felix has managed to piss off a few people with his job, but he's good at keeping his head down. And while I know that there are plenty of people who'd love to kill me for my species, there aren't many that  _ know." _

You studiously ignored the searching looks both brothers were giving you. They wanted to know what you were - of course they did. Everyone did, at one point or another. But it really wasn't safe, for them  _ or _ for you.

That's why you always got annoyed when anyone pressed you on it. When you said that it was a safety issue, you  _ meant _ it. Before the Undergrounders had come around, even other Surface monsters would have happily speared you or any of your cousins through the head. When humans had been alerted to the continued presence of monsters, everyone had agreed that you all had to stick together, or you'd be picked off one by one. Even you and your family were included in that pact, despite the way many had argued that you shouldn't be.

Tch.  _ 'Abominations against nature', _ as if. True, your form and creation wasn't as...  _ stable, _ as most of the other Surfacers, but that was no excuse for discrimination. You'd fight anyone who was being treated badly for reasons out of their control, and this was no different.

But... Sans and Papyrus, they were  _ different. _ True, in the beginning, they had been suspicious, and tried to pull the answer out of you. You were pretty sure that Sans had even tried to access your files once - though you weren't worried about that, you already knew that he didn't have high enough clearance.

After that, though, they'd let up. Once you'd proved yourself trustworthy, no matter what your species was, they had hesitantly allowed you closer, giving you a chance to show them that you were being genuine.

It was more than what a lot of people would give you, especially since you were so obviously a monster. 

Before monsters became public, you had struggled constantly in your own skin, shifting uncomfortably against what felt like a space too tight for you. But now, you didn't bother. You didn't shift  _ completely, _ of course, since you'd definitely get killed then, but you allowed your limbs to be just a little bit longer than was normal, your eyes a little shinier. It was nothing compared to your full form, but it allowed you a bit more room to breathe.

And the brothers had never looked at you badly for it. Even when you let yourself go in their presence, they didn't comment, didn't make a big deal out of it.  _ That _ was why you trusted them, despite everything. And why you believed that they trusted  _ you, _ despite every reason they had to the contrary.

You were so lucky to have them.

"Anyway, Snipe tossed us all out of the apartment and said not to come back until he gives the okay," you said, moving on from the previous subject with all the subtlety of a rampaging elephant. "This couch still open?"

"OF COURSE," Sans said, allowing you to get away without answering their unspoken query. He seemed to relax, allowing his speech to return to normal as you all moved onto less depressing things. "BUT, IF I MAY ASK; WHO IS SNIPE?"

"Hm?" You craned your head back to look at him, a bit surprised that he didn't already know, considering his job. And you could’ve sworn that you’d talked about it before. Well, not his name, but at least who he was. "He's the guy that controls the neighborhood my apartment building is in. He's the Sans from... Mobtale, I believe? Pretty decent guy, honestly - "

"he's from  _ what?" _ "HE CONTROLS  _ WHAT?" _

Ah. Perhaps you  _ had _ forgotten to mention that before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: i'm starting to think that i might be connected to this whole mess  
> razz: really?? like the corpse in your apartment wasn't a big enough clue??  
> you: believe me, you'd be surprised 
> 
> hey, hope you're all enjoying!! lemme know what you think. and if you have any questions/wanna chat, hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	8. a mad man who was crazy

***Ken I need help.**

_ *What did you do? _

You scowled, tapping on your phone’s case in irritation. Seriously, why did everyone always assume that it was your fault?

...Ignoring the fact that it usually was, of course.

***okay so I might have made a Mistake™**

***involving the bros**

***by which I mean I told them about Snipe and now they’re all paranoid thinking I’ve been marked for death or something**

_ *They’re just worried about you. _

You knew that, of course you did. But you felt bad about making them anxious, and you also didn’t want them to be taking time out of their busy schedules to hover over you, especially when this wasn’t even an issue. Snipe was an okay guy, and he had a sweet brother, which pretty much made up for any of his bad points.

Sure, he was part of the mob, but you didn’t see why that was a problem. You’d had run-ins with the human mob before, and even at the height of their power, they were never too much for you to deal with.

Hm… You probably shouldn’t mention that to Papyrus and Sans, though. For now, you returned to your conversation with Kenan, literally begging her to tell you what to do.

***I just wanna know how to reassure them. C’mon you’re good with people, just help me figure out what to say!!**

***seriously I’ll do anything**

_ *Anything? _

***yes!!**

_ *Then perish. _

After that, she refused to answer any more of your frantic messages, like the horrible, cruel person she was.

“Ugh,” you groaned loudly, leaning your head against the back of the couch.

“something wrong?” said the bane of your existence, looming over you with a smug-ass grin.

“My friends are so mean to me,” you informed him, resisting the urge to pout.

“sorry to hear that.” Papyrus didn’t sound sorry at all, the bastard.

“Don’t patronize me, you’re the worst one of them all,” you sulked, draping yourself over the armrest and batting away his hand when he reached out to poke you.

He snorted, but left you alone for the time being. Papyrus wandered back into the kitchen, where it seemed his brother was making a few calls. You tried not to pay attention to it.

All three of you were off work today, so it should have been a lazy day. It  _ should _ have been fun, just the three of you screwing around and playing video games, but  _ no. _ That stupid fucking corpse just had to go and ruin it.

Instead, the three of you were drifting around each other in the apartment, the air filled with unspoken questions that you didn't know how to answer. Seriously, despite Sans' near-interrogation on the subject, you really had nothing to say.

You didn't  _ know _ anything! All you knew was that Snipe controlled your area, and you were only aware of that because other people had told you. He kept trying to squeeze more information out of you, and you honestly felt a little bad, because you had nothing else to give!

Sans got off the phone, coming into the living room with a loud, exasperated sigh. When you didn't respond, still pouting over your day being ruined and Kenan being so mean to you, he stalked over in from of the couch and repeated the over-exaggerated sigh.

Still nothing. You were now looking at pictures of raccoons on the internet, because they were dumb trash babies just like you.

"AHEM!"

Finally, figuring that you had tortured him enough, you lifted your head and lazily blinked at him. "Sup?"

"I JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE WITH ONE OF MY COWORKERS," he informed you, hands on his hips. "HE SAID THAT THERE HAVE BEEN NO INCIDENTS REPORTED IN YOUR SECTOR, LET ALONE AN ACTUAL MURDER!"

"Well, it's most likely that the murder didn't  _ actually _ happen in my area," you pointed out, hiding a grin when Sans shot you a scathing look.

"THAT IS NOT THE POINT. BUT IF THE POLICE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS, AND IT WASN'T REPORTED IN ANY WAY, THEN HOW DID YOUR LITTLE FRIEND KNOW ABOUT THE MURDER IN THE FIRST PLACE?"

For a long moment, you wracked your brain trying to figure out who he was referring to. Your 'little friend'? Well, if it was Kenan, then she was the one to actually discover the body, so of course she knew about it...

Oh.  _ Snipe. _ Right, that's who they were trying to look into. You were a bit startled by their intensity, honestly. Snipe was just some random guy that you had met for maybe a total of ten minutes. He might have been a 'Sans', but that doesn't mean anything. It certainly didn't mean that you would trust him immediately.

It wasn't like he was  _ your _ Sans, after all.

But, to answer Sans' question...

"I have no idea," you said honestly, ignoring the way Sans immediately smacked his hand against the front of his skull, making a dull scraping noise. "Hey, leave me alone. I'm tired, and also a dumbass. It's not my fault."

From where he had moved to stand in the doorway of the kitchen, Papyrus snorted. You weren't sure whether he was agreeing with you or not, but you were offended either way.

"You are not dumb, you are insufferable," Sans corrected, though you could see a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "There is a very important distinction there. Just ask my brother."

"it's true," Papyrus said, nodding solemnly. When he made eye contact with you, the two of you had to resist the temptation to burst out into laughter, so you both schooled your expressions as best you could. "as i have been told often, i am quite insufferable."

"Not denying that," you said teasingly, sticking out your tongue when he grumbled in mock-offense.

Before you could allow the levity to distract you any longer, however, you knew that you had to ask.

"Hey, uh... Is it really alright for me to stay here?"

Sans sighed, deigning to actually sit next to you on the couch, of his own free will! And Papyrus also came over, only to stretch himself out along the back of the couch, like the awful heathen he was.

"love, we wouldn't have even bothered to let you in through the front door if we didn't like having you here," Papyrus said gently, patting your head once again.

Sans only scoffed, though you noticed that he hadn't tried to move away from you, even as you almost automatically began to try and cuddle up against him.

"I-I suppose I can allow it this once!" he said, turning his head to the side to try and hide his blush from you.

You almost wanted to tease him over it, but decided to leave it alone this time. You closed your eyes, feeling a sense of calmness finally wash over you in the reassurance of your friendship, that they were helping you just because they wanted to, despite your dangerous connections.

"Thank you," you whispered, finding it hard to get the words out past the lump in your throat. "Thank you guys so much."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: i love my friends!!  
> papyrus: *breathes*  
> you: why must you hurt me like this
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	9. brought the dead back to life,

You had to go back to work. Seriously, you  _ had _ to.

...So why were they trying to distract you like this?!

"y'seem a bit peaky," Papyrus said critically, eyelights sweeping over you with a far too judgmental gaze. "might be best to relax for a little bit, love."

"YES, YOU SHOULD BE RESTING!" Sans insisted, shooing you out of the kitchen and back into the living room. "I AM SURE THAT YANDEREPLANE WOULD NOT WANT YOU COMING INTO WORK IF YOU WERE NOT FEELING WELL!"

"I'm  _ fine," _ you said exasperatedly, shrugging his hands off of you. "And she won't care, you know that Papyrus. We're working with  _ cars, _ not small children. Even if I were sick, it's not that big of a risk."

Your boss wouldn't care if you came into work spitting up blood - as long as you could still reliably lift up heavy car parts, she didn't care what condition you were in.

Besides, who were these jokers trying to fool? You weren't human, you couldn't get sick in the way that they did. You rarely got sick in the first place; sure, sometimes the hunger made you feel faint, but that was about as close as you got to a 'real' illness.

Papyrus looked away, clearly not having expected it to work in the first place, but Sans still made one last valiant attempt.

"IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!" he tried, but you could tell that he was grudgingly letting it go by the way he sighed, and stopped attempting to block you from the door.

You softened, placing your hand on his shoulder. "I know, dude. But going to work and getting money is important, and it helps me take care of myself. I eat a lot, and that doesn't come for free."

"but you're staying with us now," Papyrus interjected, looking a bit disgruntled. Sans, too, seemed positively offended at the thought of you having to pay for your own food.

On the one hand, that made you want to latch onto them and mooch off all they were worth, but on the other hand, they were your friends. And you were certain that they didn't really understand the magnitude of your statement - you ate a  _ lot. _

Sighing, you plopped down on the couch that had quickly become your new best friend (mainly because it was unbelievably comfy and also never teased you), gesturing for the two brothers to take a seat. If you were going to be staying with them for the time being, it was important that you went over some things.

You'd only been here for a couple of days, but this was still needed. You were due to get your voucher in a few days, after all.

"Alright, lemme try to explain," you began, once they had both made themselves comfy - Sans in the armchair beside you, and Papyrus leaning against your legs as he sat on the floor. "Before all of you guys came to light - " Papyrus snorted at the pun. " - things were pretty rough for me, I won't lie. I had no fucking rights. Couldn't go two feet without tripping over some idiot who wanted to hang my pelt on their wall. It seriously sucked, and I'm not exaggerating." 

Sans' expression grew stormy as he listened to you, but to his credit, he didn't interrupt you to rant about his hatred of the general incompetence the world was filled with. Papyrus simply laid his head against your knees, gazing up at you as he listened patiently.

"But then, monsters got rights. Undergrounders  _ and _ Surfacers. Took hell of a lot longer than it needed to, in my opinion, but what's done is done," You waved a hand, dismissing that point for now. "And because of those rights, me 'n my cousins get certain provisions. One of those is a monthly food voucher, which should be coming soon - by tomorrow, if my guess is right. I already updated my address for all that shit, so there's no problem with that. It gives me a certain allowance for food costs."

"BUT... YOU DON'T  _ NEED _ IT. NOT WITH US," Sans said, sounding a bit frustrated - not with you, necessarily, but at the situation itself.

"I  _ have _ to use it," you explained, preparing to go into all the shitty bureaucratic loopholes that tried their best to make your life a living hell. "If I don't, I get a penalty on my next voucher. Well, it's not technically called a 'penalty', but it basically says that if I didn't use that money when I still had it, then I must not need it, so I shouldn't be able to get it. You have to go through a fuckload of paperwork to get it back, and nothing rolls over, y'know?"

"that's ridiculous," Papyrus said, and you glanced down to see him scowling at the floor.

"Yeah," you said simply. What else could you say? You hadn't even gotten into the rest of the bullshit - how you could only use the voucher at certain grocery chains, most of them being very expensive, the huge expense reports they made you write up if they thought you were being fraudulent, etc. The bullshit never ends.

"BUT IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH," Sans said shrewdly, examining you critically. You knew that he must have been remembering all the nights you'd come over here and ate practically everything in their kitchen, all the days you'd been too broke to buy lunch and had to beg it off someone else.

Even your crappy apartment controlled by the mob was connected to this - not only was it one of the only places willing to take you in (renters were allowed the very barest information on your records, but even that was enough for most of them to turn you away), it was also the cheapest.

Literally  _ everything _ you had was the very cheapest you could afford. Was it any wonder that you were so willing to jump at the chance to have Sans be your Sugar Daddy?

"I... SUPPOSE IT WOULD BE BEST FOR YOU TO RETURN TO WORK," Sans said, though you could see how grudging the statement was. "WE SIMPLY ASK THAT YOU BE CAREFUL. FOR WHATEVER REASON, YOUR APARTMENT WAS TARGETED. PLEASE, STAY SAFE."

"yeah, love," Papyrus said, turning to pillow his arms on your thighs and look up at you. "i'll be there at work, but still. shit happens."

"Yeah," you laughed, shaking your head ruefully. "You're born, shit happens, and then you die. Might as well make it good."

Besides, even though you had a pretty good idea of why your apartment had been targeted like that, you doubted that it would happen again. Especially while you were staying at the skeleton brothers' place.

Really, they worried too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans: we just want you to be safe!  
> papyrus: yes! safe here, specifically!  
> you: when have i not been safe? what, just because there might be a serial killer after me i'm not allowed to aimlessly wander around the city anymore??  
> sans & papyrus: ... (this is gonna be harder than we thought)
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	10. who hurt and lamed

You let out a strained grunt, carefully placing the engine on the ground. Honestly, you were tempted to throw it out the nearest window, but then you would have to pay to replace it _and_ to fix the window, so you resisted the violent urge in the name of your poor wallet.

"You're doing so well!" Yandereplane trilled, floating serenely by your head. "Excellent work! Just as I expected from  _ my _ employees."

"Uh, thanks boss," You said awkwardly. You ducked your head a little, in a show of respect, and went back to the truck you were currently tearing apart piece-by-piece. She zoomed off, heading straight for the next ~~(victim)~~ employee.

Yandereplane was by no means a  _ bad _ boss. She was actually pretty nice, all things considered. She was just kind of... possessive and creepy, which was probably hypocritical coming from you. Regardless, even though you were one of her employees, she didn't really show you any special attention. You weren't one of her favorites, which you were  _ extremely _ thankful for.

Speaking of things to be thankful for...

"lunch?" Papyrus said, popping up behind you like he always did.

This time, you didn't even bother to complain about him startling you - the allure of food was enough to waive any anger you might have held towards him.

"Dude.  _ Always," _ you said eagerly, almost skipping as you walked up to him. "Just lemme get washed up, then I'll be all over it. Sans made us both lunch, right?"

"yeah," Papyrus said, though he didn't seem nearly as pleased by the idea as you were. "i'll choke down the lunch wrap, then we can go pick up something for dessert."

"Boo. If you dislike it that much, just let me eat it!" You said, heading over to the sink in the common area. You concentrated on getting all this dirt and oil off of your hands, giving them a hard scrub. 

While it was true that you could eat almost anything, that didn't mean that you wanted to get a mouthful of oil with your food. Not only was it probably bad for your digestive system or whatever, it also tasted bad, which was far more important.

Seriously, Sans' cooking couldn't even  _ compare _ to the level of grossness it was.

"if i let you eat it, then what would i eat?" Papyrus said amusedly, leaning against the wall next to you.

You stuck your tongue out at him childishly.

"I dunno, maybe you could finally make use of all that salt you've got stored up?"

_ "wow. _ rude. what did i ever do to you?"

"See, there it is. You've got plenty of salt, skeleton man, you might as well do something with it."

...

When Papyrus' shift was ending, you waved him off, barely concealing your exasperation.

"are you sure - "

"I'm sure!" you said, practically shoving him out the door at this point. "I'm on break right now, but I'm just gonna stay in the staff room. Then I'm gonna do the rest of my shift, and I'll be back home in a couple of hours, okay?"

Papyrus frowned, clearly still uncomfortable with the thought of leaving you alone, but he relented.

"alright..." he said, reluctantly. "let me know if anything happens, okay?"

"I will," you promised, though you were more trying to get him out of here so you could go enjoy the last few, precious moments of your break. "I'll even text you when I'm on my way home, okay?"

Papyrus nodded, his shoulders finally relaxing. "okay."

He shortcutted away in the next moment, and you let out a sigh. It was sweet that they cared about you, and you really  _ did _ appreciate it, but you didn't see the need for all this fuss. So, some body had been dumped in your apartment. Weirder things had happened to you, and you hadn't even gotten an actual threat yet!

Sure, you had an inkling about what this was all about, but you were honestly hoping to be wrong, so you hadn't mentioned it to anyone yet. If you were right, then the situation was definitely troublesome, but ultimately harmless.

Of course, with your luck it was actually something way worse. Jeez...

Mind filled with suspicions and concerns, you absently made your way back to the staff room, intending on surfing the web for the remainder of your break.

When you actually got there, however, those plans were quickly derailed. There was a text notification on your screen, and though you desperately hoped it was from Kenan or Felix...

It was not.

_ *Hey, are you free? I need to talk to you as soon as possible. Family issue. _

You let out a shaky breath, squeezing your eyes shut. Damn it.

It was Captain, one of your cousins. That wasn't his name, but... That was what you all called him anyway. Old habits were hard to break.

***I'm at work right now. Do we need to speak in person?**

_ *Not now. Maybe in future. Call me when your shift is done. _

***Okay.**

You put your phone back in your pocket, tapping your fingertips against the tabletop. Looking down, you noticed that in your distress, your whole body had shrunk, becoming just a bit smaller, more  _ human. _

Fuck. Concentrating for a moment, you let yourself expand to a more natural size, though still carefully constrained. You wanted nothing more than to let yourself go, let the  _ thing _ inside you take control, but...

You couldn't. Not here, not now. Not  _ ever. _

_ "We are not mindless creatures. We are a civilized people, and we must act as such." _

That was what Captain had told all of you, so long ago. There had been fighting, and pain, and vicious arguments that hurt everyone involved, but he had calmed you all down.

He had given you a  _ purpose _ again, something to fight for. Civility. 

(As if that was something that any of you had in the first place.)

Belatedly, you remembered your promise to Papyrus. Your heart surged with guilt, but you reasoned to yourself that it wasn't a  _ lie. _ You were just... going to go home a little bit later than you had intended.

After all, this was family business. And though you loved the skeleton brothers... This had to come first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: man, i sure hope this isn't what i think it is!  
> captain: it might be. it might also be worse. have fun figuring it out!  
> you: damn it.
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	11. and killed and maimed,

You stepped outside of your workplace, waving an absentminded goodbye to the other workers still milling around. It was almost seven now, and you probably had about twenty minutes before one of the skeleton brothers called you in a panic, so you had to take advantage of it. 

The sky had long gone dark, and your stomach was, of course, gurgling in protest of how long it had been since you last ate (a few hours, if that), but you couldn't head home just yet.  _ God, _ did you want to, but you had to call Captain.

You'd said you would, so now you  _ had _ to. You'd do pretty much anything to get that guy off your back, after all.

Pulling out your phone, you leaned back against the side of the building, mindfully staying within sight of your work, and under the streetlight. Just in case - there was nothing around here that could  _ really _ hurt you, but it was never a bad idea to be careful. 

You dialed the number that you knew by heart, letting out a sigh that coalesced in a white mist. It was getting cold again...

"This is Captain Peter Davis speaking," he said, his tone as blunt as always. "Thank you for calling me so prudently, private. There is much that we have to discuss."

_ If you knew it was me, why did you introduce yourself? _ You wondered bemusedly, but shook it off.

Almost against your will, you straightened your stance, righting your posture a little bit as you spoke to him.

"Understood, sir," you answered, the formal speech falling from your mouth with ease. "I'm ready to receive your orders."

"No orders yet," the Captain said, which was probably not as reassuring as he meant it to be. "Just a precaution. I'm afraid that Lieutenant Mason has gone off the grid again. Have you received any...  _ gifts, _ lately?"

You closed your eyes reflexively, holding back an irritated grunt. "Yes, sir."

You'd been worried about this. Of course, you had hoped and  _ prayed _ that it would be something else, that it would be some kind of gang thing or even a serial killer,  _ anything _ but this...

"Hm... I see." 

You heard some papers shuffling, and you could easily picture the Captain sitting at his desk as always, going through those mounds of paperwork that only seemed to grow bigger as the years went by. 

Hesitantly, you spoke up. "Sir, I... I know you're not aware of my current location, but I'm halfway across the country from the base. Is it really possible for Lieutenant Mason to have tracked me here?"

Even as you said it, you wanted to smack yourself. Of course it was - Mason was smart as hell, and had always been more in-tune with his instincts than the rest of you.  _ Damn it. _

"Yes, I'm afraid it is," the Captain said, confirming your fears. "What did you do with his gift?"

"I got rid of it, sir," you said, barely withholding a groan. "I live with a couple of roommates now. There's no way I would have been able to conceal it from them, sir."

"Do any authorities know?" he said sharply.

You... hesitated. You knew that Sans had mentioned the incident to a couple of his coworkers, even if nothing had come of it. And Sans was a police officer. Did that count? It probably did.

"Not any that will cause a problem, sir," you said firmly. It wasn't  _ really _ a lie, right? 

Fuck, were you treading on very thin ice tonight.

There was a long silence from the other end of the conversation, leaving you to sweat as you tried to guess what he would do next.

"...Understood," Captain said finally. There was no inflection in his voice, but you relaxed anyway, knowing that he had decided to let it go for now. "I'll report that he's missing, and apparently back to his old habits. Since you rejected his first gift, he probably won't try again for a while, but if you come into contact with him, report back to me  _ immediately, _ private. I mean it."

"Yes sir, of course sir," you said hastily. You'd always liked Mason, even when he was having one of his regression periods, but you didn't like him enough to go against the Captain.

"See that you do," he said brusquely. He hung up without another word, and you couldn't help but feel relieved. You always felt nervous having conversations with him - even though he wasn't technically your boss anymore, everyone still acted like he was.

Letting out a sigh, you slipped your phone back in your pocket and took a moment to just breathe.

"wow, that sounded kinda intense."

Your eye twitched, and you looked over to see that Mob Sans standing a few feet away. He was smiling, but it did nothing to disguise the assessing look in his eyes.

"It was," you said, a bit tersely. "It was also  _ private. _ Can I help you with something, Sans?"

He raised his hands in surrender, and meandered over to stand next to you. For a second, you'd thought that he'd actually taken the hint, but then he ruined it five seconds later when he opened his mouth again.

"so what was that?" he said, a touch mischievously. "overprotective dad? overly-formal professor? weird sex thing?"

_ "Absolutely not," _ you said vehemently, wanting to go dunk your head in  _ acid _ after hearing his last suggestion. "It was my old boss. He's always looked after me, so he got worried. That's all."

"didn't sound much like worry," Sans said shrewdly. "at least not from  _ your _ end."

"Well, that's what happens when you only hear one end of a conversation," you grumbled. "Seriously, do you need something?"

His red eyelights swept over your form, leaving you bristling and distinctly uncomfortable without really knowing why. There was nothing lecherous in his gaze, just... cool appraisal.

"no," he declared, lifting a hand to adjust his hat. "I think i got all i need."

"And what the hell does that -  _ and, _ he's gone. Of course."

Between one blink and the next, Sans had vanished into a shortcut, something that was not  _ nearly _ as interesting when it was used against you. 

"Damn it." You groaned aloud, pulling out your phone to tell Papyrus that you were coming home. You were about ready to sleep for a week right now.

Seriously, this whole thing had almost been enough to put you off your appetite!

...Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: how could this possibly get any worse  
> the universe: lol just wait for it bro
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	12. our town was torn with strife!

_ "We're not gonna make it." _

_ "What the hell are you saying?! Of course we'll make it!" _

_ "But the planes - " _

_ "Let them come. You listen to me, private: we are gonna make it through this, all of us. We've survived this far, and we'll keep surviving. We're all gonna go home. Together." _

...

You awoke with a start, vision blurry. As you slowly regained consciousness, you noticed that someone had turned on the TV.

It was Sans, and he was sitting up in the armchair next to the couch, watching the screen intently.

"S-Sans?" you croaked out, feeling like your throat could barely handle the strain. "What's going on? Why are you awake?"

"I came out here to get a glass of water. and noticed that you seemed to be in distress," he said calmly. The lack of his usual exuberance was noted, and you felt a rush of guilt to be the cause of it, but at the same time you couldn't help but be grateful. You weren't sure you could handle too many loud noises right now. 

You were also grateful for his usual tact. After all, you knew that he typically went to the bathroom right next to his room to get water, if he really needed it. He'd probably come out here to check on you, the sweetheart.

"I had a nightmare," you said, shrugging. You didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of. You'd dealt with your issues for many years, and had mostly come to terms with them.

That didn't mean the actual thing didn't still suck, though.

"I see," Sans said simply. He reached out, grabbing the remote and muting the TV. Then he turned to you, looking almost hesitant. "Do you... want a hug?"

"You don't have to sound so disgusted by the idea," you said teasingly, but you held out your arms anyway. A hug _would_ be nice right about now.

Sans didn't shy away, standing up and pulling you into a firm embrace. It, perhaps, wasn't the most comfortable thing, considering that he was made entirely out of bones, but he held you close, and you could feel the kindness in his touch.

You relaxed against him, sighing. Sans wasn't very touchy-feely, for all that his brother definitely was, so this was a nice thing, even if it was an unexpected one.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied softly, or as soft as he ever got.

The two of you stayed like that for quite some time, until the very first rays of sunlight began to shine through the windowpane. As the warmth hit your face, you finally stirred, pulling away from the comfortable position that had almost been enough to put you back to sleep.

You nuzzled absently against the side of his skull, ignoring the way a slight blush spread on his cheekbones.

"Seriously Sans, thank you," you said, standing up and stretching out your sore limbs. "I feel much better now, I really appreciate it."

“YOU BETTER!” he said huffily, calm moment apparently over. "I DON'T DO THIS FOR JUST ANYONE, YOU KNOW!"

"I know," you said, biting your lip to stop your teasing smile from giving you away. "I'm very lucky."

"O-OBVIOUSLY!" he sputtered, getting to his feet and marching off into the kitchen. He was definitely blushing now.

You followed after him with a little laugh, watching fondly as he began to make breakfast.

"PANCAKES?"

"Please."

After that, the two of you were mainly silent, simply enjoying the early morning. Not long after Sans started, his brother stumbled into the kitchen, missing his jacket and giving a huge yawn.

"g'morning," he said sleepily, waving lazily before dropping his head right back down on the table. 

You chuckled, reaching out to pat him gently on the skull. "Good morning."

Sans didn't deign to say anything, simply giving his brother a cross look for his lack of table manners. But he didn't start scolding him, either, so that was a pretty good indicator of his mood.

Before long, the food was ready and the three residents were chowing down, you most of all. The brothers luckily didn't have much of a problem with letting you have the biggest portions - you felt kinda bad about it, but not enough to stop taking advantage of it.

Sans finished way before you, as always, and when he did, he cleared his throat and sat up straight.

"I HAVE A PROPOSAL FOR YOU," he said bluntly, staring at you from across the table.

"Is it marriage?" you said through a mouthful of food. "Because if so, yeah. I'm totally down for it."

Sans sputtered, practically his entire skull getting covered by his embarrassed blush, and Papyrus nudged you with his elbow.

"hey, love, i thought you wanted to marry _me,"_ he whined, giving you an over-exaggerated pout.

You just snorted. "Either/or. So long as I keep getting to eat food like this."

"wow. not sure if i should be happy about that or not."

"YOUR INCREDIBLY LOW STANDARDS ASIDE," Sans interjected, actually managing to surprise a laugh out of you. "THIS IS SERIOUS."

You sobered quickly, taking note of his genuine sternness. Papyrus did the same, eyes narrowing slightly as he sat up a little straighter.

"THERE HAS BEEN SEVERAL CASES AROUND THE CITY, ONES THAT I SUSPECT MAY CONNECT TO YOURS," he said, making your blood run cold. "THEY ALL SEEM TO CONVERGE ON THE SAME POINT. I HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO LOOK INTO IT, ALONGSIDE TWO OF MY COUNTERPARTS IN THE POLICE FORCE."

Through the beginning stirrings of your panic, something caught your attention.

_"Only_ you and your counterparts?" you questioned, studying him carefully. "I thought that only three of you were in the police force to begin with."

"YES, THAT'S CORRECT," Sans said, sounding a bit sour. "BUT BASED ON THE LOCATION, THE MAIN SUSPECT IS LOOKING TO BE ANOTHER COUNTERPART OF MINE, AND THE HIGHER-UPS SEEM TO THINK THAT WE WOULD BE THE BEST ONES TO HANDLE IT."

"really?" Papyrus said, looking like he was finally awake. "but for a case like that, which of our counterparts would - _oh."_

"YES." Sans said grimly, nodding in confirmation at whatever his brother had suspected.

You were at a loss, but that didn't really matter right now. What _really_ mattered was what he'd said earlier.

"Okay..." you said slowly, drawing their attention back to you. "What's your proposal, then?"

Papyrus jumped, before suddenly staring at his brother in surprise and worry. "wait, you can't mean - "

"I WOULD LIKE YOU TO COME WITH ME," Sans said firmly.

You blinked. _"What?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> papyrus: is it... them?  
> sans: yes, i'm afraid so.  
> you: am i supposed to know what that means
> 
> you'll never guess who's coming, lol. and hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	13. but now we're not afraid no more,

Papyrus immediately moved to protest, only for his mouth to snap shut at Sans' irritated look.

"I MEANT EXACTLY WHAT I SAID," Sans said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. Seemed like he was sticking to his guns on this one, and you couldn't be entirely surprised. Sans was never one to back down after making a declaration like that. "I WANT YOU TO COME WITH ME."

"I..." You were speechless. "Not that I don't appreciate the opportunity, or whatever, but is that even _allowed?_ Wouldn't you get in trouble for involving a civilian in your investigation?"

Your eyebrow did a weird twitch at the thought of being called a 'civilian'. Even though you had been one for most of your life, and were almost certainly considered one in the eyes of the law, it still felt like a strange concept.

"yeah, m'lord," Papyrus interjected, apparently unable to hold himself back any longer. He was wringing his hands nervously, probably trying to think of a way to stop this without offending anyone. "this... this is a lot, don't you think?"

"IT IS," Sans acknowledged, giving his brother a challenging stare. "BUT I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT OUR ROOMMATE CAN HANDLE IT."

Papyrus fell silent, shoulders hunching, but he didn't protest any further.

A part of you was gratified by their trust in you, but you were still so confused that it couldn't really have much of an impact. Seriously, _what was going on here?_

"AND AS FOR YOUR QUESTION," he continued, turning back to you. "YES, I HAVE ALREADY ASKED AND GOTTEN PERMISSION. I DIDN'T INFORM THEM OF YOUR POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT IN THE CASE, DON'T WORRY. YOU WOULD BE HELPING ME AS A CONSULTANT. YOUR STATUS AS A SURFACER CERTAINLY HELPS IN THAT REGARD, CONSIDERING HOW ADVANCED YOUR SENSES ARE."

Well, you had to give him that one. Your senses weren't the best out there, and could probably even be beaten by the Dog Squad that you often saw running around in the city park, but no one could sniff out dead bodies like you could.

It was kind of your _thing,_ after all.

"I... suppose I wouldn't mind," you said slowly, trying to piece this whole thing together. "I can take some time off of work."

"YOU WILL BE COMPENSATED FOR IT," Sans assured you.

You nodded in thanks, brow furrowing as you considered your options. They already had a location, and a possible suspect, so that would make things a lot easier -

Wait.

Oh _shit,_ they already had a suspect, and it was one of Sans' counterparts. Double shit.

You groaned, pinching the bridge of your nose. That sudden reminder had made this a lot more complicated. _Obviously_ you had to help now - as if you could ever let an innocent monster take the blame for something one of your cousins had done. You didn't want to turn Lt. Mason in, either, so probably the best thing you could do would be to help Sans prove that this other guy was innocent.

And from the way Papyrus was talking about it earlier, that would be no easy task.

“Who is this counterpart of yours that they’re suspecting, anyway? Is there something I should know?” You asked, only growing more suspicious when the two exchanged a shifty look.

Papyrus shrugged, and Sans let out a put-upon sigh before answering you.

“HIM AND HIS BROTHER ARE FROM THE UNIVERSE DESIGNATED AS ‘HORRORTALE’,” he explained, a serious expression on his face. “OFFICIALLY, IT IS KNOWN THAT HIS UNIVERSE HAD TO DEAL WITH A LARGE FOOD SHORTAGE, CAUSING WHAT AMOUNTED TO A CIVIL UPRISING AND CREATING A LOT OF GRIEF. UNOFFICIALLY, THE MONSTERS WERE STARVING AND ATE HUMAN FLESH.”

“...Huh,” You said thoughtfully. “Well, alright then.”

“they don’t do it _anymore,_ of course,” Papyrus said hastily, before pausing to add; “at least, that’s the hope. personally, i believe that they aren’t responsible for these killings, but you never know.”

“Yeah, I gotcha,” you murmured, thinking deeply.

You would probably be able to get along with these guys fine, since you weren’t human and already had a fairly close connection with some of their counterparts. Of course, that also depends on how well they viewed their counterparts in the first place, which (just based on Papyrus’ first reaction to them) might not be as good as you hoped.

(You, also, might be able to relate to them a little bit, but you had no intention of saying anything about that. It wasn’t your place, and you didn’t have permission anyway.)

“Yeah, sure,” you decided, making Sans grin in triumph and Papyrus look away with a scowl. “I’ll help out, if you really think I’ll be useful.”

“OF COURSE!” Sans declared. “I WOULDN’T HAVE ASKED IF I DIDN’T.”

“Fair enough,” you said, your lips quirking up just the tiniest bit. Then, you turned to Papyrus. You didn’t want to be the cause of any animosity between the two brothers, and you really _did_ value Papyrus’ opinion. “What about you, dude? Think it’ll be worth it?”

He stubbornly glared at the table for a moment, before sighing.

“yeah, you’ll do fine,” he admitted, though he didn’t seem very happy about it. “i’ve never had a problem with the two of them, and maybe your nose can help sniff out the real culprit.”

You resisted a wince. You already had a good idea of who the real culprit was, after all.

“Okay,” You said, instead of panicking and confessing family business. “I would hate for the wrong person to get accused. If there’s anything I can do to clear their names, I’m happy to do it.”

And you meant that, really. You couldn’t turn in Lt. Mason without facing legal troubles of your own, but that didn’t mean that you couldn’t help prove the innocence of someone else. You just had to get enough evidence to prove that it wasn’t the brothers from Horrortale, but not enough to implicate you or your family members in any way.

Jeez, talk about a delicate balancing act.

“WE’LL BE LEAVING ON FRIDAY, AND SHOULD BE BACK WITHIN THE WEEK,” Sans said, standing from the table to start putting the dishes away. “CAN YOU BE READY BY THEN?”

“Sure thing,” you said, saluting sloppily. “Consider it done, my man.”

“GOOD,” he said sternly, though you could see his mouth twitching into a smile. “BECAUSE THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME SOMETHING BIG.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: i have a good feeling about this!  
> papyrus: well, glad someone does
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	14. we see a brighter day.

"ARE YOU READY TO GO?" Sans said impatiently, tapping his foot on the ground as he waited by the door.

"Yeah, man, keep your shorts on," you said, hiding a yawn behind your hand. When Sans said that he wanted to get going _early,_ you didn't think that he meant _five in the morning._

Papyrus had dragged himself out of bed to say goodbye, but he was blinking pretty rapidly by now. You figured that he only had a few more minutes left in him before he fell asleep on his feet.

Chuckling, you walked over and nudged him on the arm. "Hey, dude. We gotta get moving, so gimme a hug."

He obliged, tucking his head in the crook of your neck, and you allowed it without protesting. Papyrus didn't want to actually _say_ anything, because he was way too nice of a guy, but you knew that he was really hoping that you would change your mind. He would never stop you from going, but he had probably been trying to subtly talk you out of it.

Unfortunately for him, you'd already made up your mind. You were pretty damn sure that this whole thing was Lt. Mason's fault, and you refused to let an innocent monster take the blame for his crimes.

"stay safe, love," he murmured, his breath warm against your skin.

You only laughed, pulling away and patting him gently on the skull. "Well, I can't exactly give you a guarantee, but I'll do my best."

Papyrus grumbled disapprovingly, but seemed willing to accept that as the best he was gonna get. He stumbled back into his bedroom after saying goodbye to his brother, apparently trying to get a few more hours of sleep before he had to run off to work.

Like you'd expected, Yandereplane was totally okay with letting you take some time off to let you help with a police investigation. She'd actually called it a 'wonderful opportunity', and informed you that she wanted full details upon your return.

You actually weren't sure if that was legal, but you would try your very best.

"You ready to go, Sans?" you said, grinning teasingly at him.

He only huffed, seeming very unamused. "YES! I HAVE BEEN READY FOR THE PAST HALF-HOUR!"

"Glad to know you're so prepared," you said simply, refusing to rise to the bait he was trying to trap you in.

Sans gave you a cross look and something that was nearly a pout, before turning away and dismissing it. There wasn't really time for your usual banter right now anyway, as much as you had joked about being fashionably late.

"WE'LL BE MEETING UP WITH THE OTHER TWO AT THAT STUPID COFFEE PLACE THEY LIKE," Sans said briskly, throwing you a helmet so that you could safely ride with him on his motorcycle. "DO _TRY_ TO BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR."

"Oh, don't worry," you smirked, hip-checking him as you walked by. "I'll be an absolute _angel._ They won't even know what to do with me."

"I DOUBT ANYONE EVER DOES," he muttered, rolling his eyelights.

You could only throw your head back, laughing freely. You could already tell that this was going to be a fun time.

...

Sans' coworkers were _delightful_ and you wanted to keep them _forever._

"He really said that?" you asked, utterly enthralled.

"OH, YES," Edge cackled, sipping at his coffee with a very self-satisfied expression. "I COULD HARDLY FORGET IT!"

Sans, his head in his hands, only groaned. "I THOUGHT WE AGREED TO NEVER SPEAK OF THAT AGAIN!"

_"I_ AGREED TO NOTHING. YOU JUST SAID 'LET'S NEVER SPEAK OF THIS AGAIN', AND WE ALL IGNORED IT."

Sans dropped his head down on the table, banging it against the marble countertop. Giggling, you stuck your hand in-between his skull and the table to make sure that he didn't hurt himself, but otherwise you didn't try to interfere. It wasn't your job to drag him out of the hole he'd found himself in, and you were honestly finding it too amusing to miss.

"Sorry, Razz," Blue added, tone full of mirth - though at least _he_ was being conscious of the other early-morning customers and keeping his voice down. "It _was_ pretty funny."

Sans only grumbled under his breath, making an expression that he would resolutely deny was a pout, even though it _definitely_ was.

"ENOUGH HARASSMENT!" he barked out, trying to avoid any more embarrassment on his part. "THE REASON WE GOT STARTED SO EARLY WAS TO OFFICIALLY BRING THE NEWBIE UP TO SPEED. LET'S GET IT OVER WITH."

"Right," you agreed, fighting back an amused smile. Somehow, being called a 'newbie' by him seemed hilarious. "Anything important that I should know?"

"Well, Razz said that you were informed of the situation in Horrortale," Blue said, smoothly taking the reins. You nodded in confirmation, and he smiled briefly before continuing. "The reason that those two are the suspects in the first place is because of where they live."

"THEY LIVE ON THE EDGE OF THE FOREST, BEFORE THE MOUNTAIN RANGE," Edge cut in, crossing his arms over his chest. It was kinda weird, seeing someone who looked so much like your own Papyrus, but acting far more exuberant than Paps ever did. But then again, you supposed you would have to get used to that sort of thing by now.

"And that's where the killings are being linked back to?" you asked, drawing on the scant knowledge that Sans had already lectured you on. He hadn't gone into any specifics, but he had made sure to give you a proper overview.

"CORRECT," Edge nodded. Then, he grimaced slightly, and it made the scars on his face stand out more. "IT DOESN'T HELP THEIR CASE THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE A HISTORY OF EATING HUMANS. THE BODIES THAT HAVE SHOWN UP ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF BEING HARVESTED FOR MEAT. VERY SPECIFICALLY, AT THAT. THIS IS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING."

You scrunched up your nose at that, but couldn't help but feel a bit surprised by one thing.

"There was actually bodies left? Enough to identify something as detailed as that?"

What could Lt. Mason be up to? That wasn't quite his normal routine, after all. Perhaps he was upset about you disregarding his first gift?

"YES, AND THAT WAS OUR FIRST INDICATION THAT IT WASN'T THE HORRORTALE BROTHERS," Sans said, giving you an approving look for your moment of forethought. "THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT SO MUCH MEAT ON THE BODIES IF THEY WERE _REALLY_ THE ONES KILLING THEM."

"The Horrortale brothers also avoid Surfacers, if they can," Blue added, jumping back in. "Said that it can set off their instincts too much. Considering that several of the victims were identified to be Surface Monsters, it would be strange for them to suddenly change their minds like that."

You nodded, thoughtfully. There was a lot to think about here...

"OF COURSE, WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING FOR CERTAIN YET," Edge said briskly, breaking the curious atmosphere carelessly. He stood from his seat, throwing down a few bills for the coffee, and gave the rest of you a challenging look. "AND WE WON'T KNOW ANYTHING UNLESS WE GET MOVING. IT'S NOT TOO FAR AWAY, SO C'MON - LET'S GET ON THE ROAD."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: i'm not worried, i'm sure i'll get along great with the horrortale guys  
> edge: oh yeah?  
> you: yeah. we've got a lot in common  
> edge: ...  
> blue: ...  
> sf!sans: what the fuck does that mean
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	15. he's laid to rest,

'Hit the road' turned out to mean 'go to the bus stop', which you had initially found... peculiar. Wouldn't it be easier to drive?

But Sans had explained to you that the terrain surrounding the Horrortale brothers' house wasn't suited for vehicles, so it was cheaper and less hassle to take a bus and then just walk the rest of the way.

You were okay with that - the weather wasn't that bad, this early in the morning, and you enjoyed being able to walk through the woods again. You usually refrained from doing so, out of fear of  _ temptation, _ but it with the others by your side, you weren't worried about that.

However, you were a bit worried about who  _ else _ was likely hanging around the woods - namely, Lt. Mason. He wouldn't attack you, but... You were fearful for anyone who had decided to do some early-morning hiking. According to the reports, that's how he had gotten most of his victims so far.

You grit your teeth at the thought, shoving your hands in your pockets. The chatter of the others just washed over you, completely deaf to what they were saying. You just couldn't get it out of your head.

People had died. People had  _ died, _ because you had hesitated. You'd hesitated to report his presence in the first place, and then you'd just sat back and relaxed while he was out murdering people!

Maybe it wasn't your responsibility to make sure that Mason stayed on the wagon, but the moment he came after you, in your city, it became your responsibility to take care of him. 

Honestly, you were ashamed of yourself. The time here had really made you go soft.

"ALMOST THERE!" Blue said cheerfully, nudging your arm.

You jolted, brought out of your thoughts so suddenly, and shot him a thankful look. Sans and Edge were arguing about something, a few feet ahead, but they hadn't noticed your lack of focus, so you couldn't help but be grateful for that.

He merely smiled, his expression tinged with mischief. He gestured to the two skeletons in front of you, both having progressed to simply screaming incoherently at each other.

"THIS IS A  _ LOT _ MORE TOLERABLE THAN USUAL!" Blue laughed. "YOU MUST BE A GOOD INFLUENCE ON THEM!"

"Oh, undoubtably," you replied with a tiny laugh of your own. It's okay. You made some mistakes in the past, and now was your chance to fix it. Starting with making sure that nobody gets framed for a crime that they didn't commit.

Confidence renewed, you increased your speed, Blue following next to you as you caught up with Sans and Edge. 

"Blue said that we're almost there," you interrupted their little spat, looking up at Edge with curiosity. He was only the tiniest bit taller than you, and you barely contained the urge to make yourself bigger so that you could stare down at him.  _ Hm. _ Maybe another time. "Is there any landmarks we should be looking for?"

“NO, NOT YET," he said briskly. He also seemed to realize just how close you were to him in height, and appeared to be a bit put-out by it. "WE'RE GOING TO MEET UP WITH THE BROTHERS FIRST, AND DO AN INTERVIEW. AFTER THAT, WE WILL BE INVESTIGATING THE AREA AND TRYING TO TRACK DOWN EXACTLY WHERE THE PEOPLE WERE KILLED. THEY WERE DUMPED ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY, SO IT'S HARD TO SAY EXACTLY WHERE THE MURDERS HAPPENED."

"WHICH IS WHAT  _ YOU'RE _ HERE FOR," Sans interjected, nodding in your direction.

You had a moment of panic, and then promptly remembered what he was talking about.

"Right," you nodded back, sticking your hands in your pockets. "My nose will be able to sniff something like that out, no problem."

Blue and Edge stared at you for a moment, unrivaled curiosity in their eyes. You knew that they wanted to know how, wanted to know what you were, but you said nothing, merely smiling calmly at them.

Sans tugged lightly on your arm, bringing you closer to him. "EXACTLY. SO LET'S HURRY UP, ALREADY."

You had to resist the urge to snicker at his protective act, but obligingly followed him. 

It wasn't long before the four of you hit a break in the trees, and you could smell it before you saw it -

_ Blood. _

You sniffed the air lightly, holding yourself back from licking your lips. That smelled  _ good. _

"HERE WE ARE!" Blue cheered, pointing to a small cottage that you could only barely see at the edge of the clearing.

It was a cute little place, certainly. Made out of stone, with a flourishing garden surrounding it. Honestly, you probably would have been able to appreciate it more if you weren't trying to hold back your drool.

Someone had been cooking meat, and recently at that.

_ (hungry hungry hungry hungry  _ **_hungry)_ **

"Must have a lot of deer out here," you commented carelessly, wiping at your mouth with one hand.

"HUH?" Blue questioned, having been the only one to hear your little remark.

"Oh, I can smell it," you explained, blinking in surprise. You hadn't meant to say that out-loud. You could see Sans and Edge turn towards you, just slightly. "There's blood, and cooked meat. Not from today, but probably last night. It's deer meat."

"YOU CAN DECIPHER IT THAT PRECISELY?" Sans said, sounding fascinated.

You supposed that you had never really displayed your abilities much in front of him... Years of trying your best to pretend to be human had taken their toll on you.

"Yeah," you shrugged. It wasn't anything particularly impressive - there were plenty of species that had even better senses than you. It just so happened that yours were particularly attuned to sniffing out corpses.

The skeletons seemed to find it impressive, though, because they were all looking at you a bit differently than before. Seemed they were taking you a bit more seriously, now.

Dismissing it, you headed up the stairs, ready to knock on the door.

"WAIT!" Edge said suddenly, realizing what you were about to do. "LET ME - "

Too late. You had already knocked.

The door creaked open without waiting a second, and a cracked, grinning face looked up at you.

"ya need something, snack?" the skeleton said.

You couldn't help but smile back. He just smelled so  _ delicious. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> horror!sans: mm, you would be a delicious meal  
> you: thanks, mind if i have some  
> horror!sans: excuse me, what the fuck  
> sf!sans: don't ask me
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	16. we're truly blessed,

You were snapped out of your drooling state when Edge nearly shoved himself in front of you, scowling fiercely.

Instantly, the other skeleton's smile fell. 

"to have an esteemed member of the police force visiting...? i'm honored," he said, completely monotone. "to what do i owe the pleasure?"

He didn't sound like he was actually very interested in finding out the answer, but you couldn't really blame him. Having a bristling and angry-looking Edge on their front step was no one's idea of a pleasant morning.

"WE ARE HERE ON THE BEHALF OF THE EBOTT POLICE FORCE," Edge said, seeming to be viciously satisfied by the way the other skeleton's eyelights shrunk, for just a moment. "IF YOU WOULD PLEASE STEP OUTSIDE - "

"i'm not doing  _ anything _ until you tell me what the hell is going on!" he snarled, and you could see the tips of his phalanges twitching, as if he was resisting the urge to grab a weapon.

You had to intervene,  _ now. _

"Nobody's gonna get arrested, don't worry," you said, raising your hands in surrender when his gaze whipped over to you. You tried to smile at him, but he only stared back at you in suspicion.

Thankfully, Sans and Blue took over from there, ushering the three of you off the porch and back towards the garden to give everyone a little more breathing room.

"WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST, SANS," Sans said.

You blinked. It was weird to see him address someone else as Sans, even if you logically knew that they all had the same names. Did that mean this Sans didn't have a nickname?

"AND HOPEFULLY, ONE WON'T BE NECESSARY!" Blue interjected, giving a cheerful smile that the other Sans returned with a foul look.

"then  _ why _ are you here?" he ground out.

You decided to step in again, since it seemed like even Blue was taking the opportunity to make a little jab at his counterpart.

"Bodies have been found all around Ebott's outskirts, and the signs lead the force to believe that the culprit is here, in the forest. Most of them were joggers, or explorers of some kind," you explained, drawing his attention back to you.

He tilted his head to the side, and it made the large crack spanning the back of his skull stand out in sharp definition. 

"and you think my bro and i are responsible." It wasn't a question. Merely a statement of fact, and one that he wasn't too happy about.

_ "We _ don't," you replied, shrugging and deciding to be honest about it. After all,  _ you _ definitely knew that they weren't responsible. "But they can't control what the higher ups decide that they should do."

He looked at you, something in his expression sparking with curiosity. He must have noticed your wording, there.

"you're not with them?" he questioned, tilting his head towards the other skeletons to clarify.

You shook your head. You were here with Sans and the others, yeah, but you weren't part of the police force, by any means.

"I'm not a police officer," you said nonchalantly. "I've just been brought here because I have a good nose."

"hm..." he looked like he wasn't sure whether or not to believe you.

"Oh," you said, blinking as you were suddenly reminded. "You were cooking deer last night, right? Smells really good. What did you make with it?"

He stared at you for a moment, expression blank, but then his mouth cracked into another grin.

"soup," he said simply, and then held out his hand. You took it, shaking his hand gently. "nice to know that ya have good taste, at least. ya can call me serif, snack."

You nodded, eyes softening a bit. He wasn't a bad guy, you could see that. Based on what you'd been told of Horrortale, he'd just been caught in a bad circumstance, just like you. You could understand that.

"Nice to meet you, Serif," you said, and offered your own name in return. However, you quickly realized that the clearing was suspiciously quiet, considering the three loud-mouths who'd come with you...

You turned to look at them, and they were just staring at you, their faces stunned. You raised a brow.

"Everything alright over there?" you called out, a bit bemusedly. What on earth were they doing, anyway? Weren't they the ones who had this whole thing planned out? With a sigh, you turned back to Serif. "Sorry about this whole thing. I can already tell that the killer isn't you, and I doubt it's your brother either, but they have to go through procedure."

"i get it," he said, shrugging. He then gave you a considering look. "but should you really be so quick to dismiss me as a suspect? if anyone in this forest is killing humans, me and my bro are the most likely suspects, i can admit that much."

You just smiled, letting out a little laugh. "I already told you, didn't I? I have a good sense of smell. The last killing was less than two days ago. There's nothing you could do to hide that smell from me."

Sure, your cousins and some scent-erasing devices could make it harder, but no scent (especially of blood), could truly escape you.

"then what about my brother?" Serif challenged, looking you dead in the eye as he did so.

Even without the clear warning in his tone, you knew that you'd have to answer this one  _ very _ carefully.

"You've been around him the last couple of days, right?" You knew that much - there was another scent of bone and earth on Serif that wasn't his, and you imagined that they didn't get many visitors. "I would pick it up from that. And, besides..."

You trailed off, feeling his eyes on you, and simply shrugged.

"I can't imagine any Papyrus doing something like this and keeping it from his brother," you said honestly. You knew that there were some versions of him that could, and  _ had, _ done terrible things, but very rarely to the extent of actually excluding his brother from it.

Serif grinned again, his jagged teeth glinting in the morning sun.

"good answer," he said, his tone full of humor. Then, he turned back towards the small cottage. "paps! we have a visitor! and some other jerks."

"HEY!" Blue said, sounding rather insulted. But even as he came over, he was giving you a considering look, with Edge doing the same.

Sans just seemed concerned, and he quickly walked up to you, opening his mouth as if to say something.

He was cut off, however, by the front door slamming open, and someone carefully ducking down so that he could safely make it through the doorway.

"OH, HOW WONDERFUL!" the absolutely  _ ginormous _ Papyrus said, flashing a sharp-toothed grin. "I LOVE VISITORS!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: i feel like we're gonna get along great!  
> serif: agreed  
> sans: and i am hating every second of it
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	17. and this is what we say...

This Papyrus was smiling brightly, and you could tell even from a distance that he was genuinely excited to see you. Instantly, you knew that the two of you were going to get along great.

Bounding up to stand in front of him, you didn't even realize that you had unconsciously made yourself taller, enough that by the time you were holding out your hand to this new Papyrus, you could look him right in the eye.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that, because I love visiting!" you chirped, delighted when he immediately shook your hand.

"WONDERFUL!" he declared loudly. Seems this one didn't have much volume control, not that it really bothered you. "IT SEEMS THAT WOULD MAKE US THE PERFECT PAIR!"

He was  _ amazing. _ You loved him.

You heard someone snort, and you glanced down to see that Serif had followed you over. He appeared much smaller now, and it was only then that you realized just how tall you had become. You were certainly bigger than Edge now.

"that's great, bro," Serif said, gazing up at his brother with a lazy grin. "there's a couple of other bozos around too, but i can just get rid of 'em for you."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Edge scowled, snapping out of whatever daze he had been in and stomping up to them. "WHETHER THEY ARE GUILTY OR NOT, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH PROCEDURE."

"DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY!" Blue said cheerfully, him and Sans joining the small group gathered at the edge of the porch. You noticed that, by the look in Blue's eyes, he was hoping that they  _ would _ take it personally.

That left you a bit... confused. When you all had talked earlier, they had agreed that the brothers weren't responsible. So why was everyone acting so bratty now? Honestly, the only one that was acting  _ normal _ was Sans.

"IT WOULD BE BEST FOR YOU TO COOPERATE," Sans added, his grin curling into something nasty. "IT WOULD BE UNFORTUNATE IF WE WERE FORCED TO DETAIN YOU."

Ugh, never mind.

"Nobody's detaining anyone!" You cried out, pushing in-between the two groups with an exasperated huff. "Just  _ calm down. _ Let's get the interview done so that we can put that on the books, and then we can do a search of the woods to find out what's really happening here."

The three policemen looked at you, appearing slightly stunned.

Blue blinked. "THE FOREST?"

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, but Serif must have seen the small twist in your expression, by the way he laughed under his breath.

"If these guys  _ aren't _ the culprits, then there must be something else in the forest that's killing people," you pointed out, pushing down the nagging guilt at the reminder of who was  _ really _ responsible. If you could just get away from these guys for a moment, then maybe you could sneak away and find him...

There was silence, for a moment, as everyone processed your words.

"WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WERE SENT HERE TO DO, TECHNICALLY," Edge said, though he sounded rather reluctant. You could tell, even more than antagonizing his counterparts, he was much more interested in catching whoever was really responsible.

"BUT, MAYBE..." Blue said, tapping his chin in thought.

"WE CAN FIND A WAY TO GET AROUND IT," Sans finished, grinning sharply. "AFTER ALL, IF WE'RE THE ONLY ONES HERE TO DISPUTE IT, THEN NO ONE HAS TO KNOW IF WE ACTUALLY DO, RIGHT?"

You smiled proudly, stopping yourself from patting him on the top of his skull like you wanted to. You knew that he wouldn't exactly appreciate that in front of the others. 

"my my, going against the law?" Serif said slyly, examining the others with an intrigued look. "never thought i'd see the day."

There was something mocking in that statement, but you could tell that the implied compliment behind it was genuine. 

"UM," the tall Papyrus interrupted, fidgeting in a way that belied his gigantic stature. "I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN INTENSE MOMENT WITH A LOT OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, BUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ANY OF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. KILLED? WAS SOMEONE KILLED IN THE FOREST?"

"Oh, shit," you said, snapping your fingers. You'd totally forgotten that he wasn't outside when you explained all that.

The four of your quickly brought him up to speed, and you introduced yourself while you were at it.

"OH, I SEE!" he said, and his sunken-in eye sockets blinked at you with an expression that you couldn't quite discern. "YOU MAY CALL ME RUS, FRIEND."

Friend! He called you his  _ friend! _

"Sure, if that's what you want," you said agreeably, sticking your hands in your pockets. He wasn't your Papyrus, but you had been willing to call him that if he wanted. Maybe you would ask the brothers about their preferences later.

"REALLY THOUGH, THIS IS QUITE CONCERNING!" Rus said, frowning. The way his frown arranged his skull made him appear rather frightening, but you couldn't find it anything other than endearing. "MY BROTHER AND I TEND TO HUNT IN THE WOODS EVERY FEW DAYS, BUT WE HAVE NOT CAUGHT SIGHT OF ANYTHING THAT WOULD INDICATE A SERIAL KILLER."

"EVERY FEW DAYS?" Blue asked, pulling out a notebook to write this stuff down in.

Rus nodded, and the other two officers joined in, apparently ready to begin the interview now.

You stepped to the side, not wanting to get in their way, and frowned as you gazed out into the woods. The senses of a skeleton would never compare to yours, but you knew from Slim that they had better senses than the average human, at least.

Maybe they wouldn't be able to smell the blood, but wouldn't they know if someone else had been going onto their territory? Then again, you shouldn't assume. They may not have the instincts that your kind did, and from what you had been told earlier, they tended to avoid people anyway.

"smell anything?" Serif said quietly, having stuck by your side while the others were talking with his brother. 

You wavered for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Nothing useful. Not yet."

There was the scent of blood in the air, yes, but it was all from the brothers’ catches. 

If you wanted to to find out just where Lt. Mason had been hiding, you were going to have to go deeper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: hm... i'm feeling something reckless coming on  
> sans: absolutely not  
> serif: wait, wait, i wanna hear it
> 
> **hey, listen!** we've hit a milestone in this fic that i'm so excited about - officially over one-hundred comments!! i can't thank you all enough. but... i think this might be a fun way to do it!
> 
> starting today, on sunday october 14th, **i will be accepting drabble requests for this story on my tumblr**. [here](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com/post/179062541051/make-the-world-afraid-special) is the post stating the full guidelines, so please read it and submit a prompt! i would love to hear what you guys are interested in, from different povs to aus, so read the guidelines and hit me up!! doing it on anon is perfectly fine, and **you're allowed to send more than one**. just make sure to read the guidelines first!
> 
> again, thank you all so much. this is really amazing, and i'm so happy that you've all enjoyed this story so much. i hope this enthusiasm carries out into the future, as we progress more into the world i've created for you guys! <3


	18. things are swell now,

Their chatter didn't stop for nearly an hour, and you found yourself becoming increasingly restless. You knew what you had to do here, you  _ knew _ who was doing the killing and how to find him.

The only thing holding you back was the knowledge that you couldn't expose yourself in front of the others. They would want an excuse for why you wanted to go off alone, and any answer you could give would be either unsatisfactory, or a straight-up lie.

Sans was your  _ friend, _ and the others were quickly becoming your friends as well. You wanted to keep the lying to a minimum, if at all possible.

"WELL, WE'RE DONE OVER HERE," Sans said briskly, walking over to you and nudging your hip. It was the highest part of you that he could reach, at the moment, and you resisted a snort of amusement. "WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?"

Did he really have to sound so suspicious?

"Nothing," you said, shrugging your shoulders. "Just checking out the atmosphere."

Serif, on your other side, sniggered. You shot him a pouting look, and he merely shrugged, entirely unrepentant. Geez, was no one on your side today?

"REALLY?" Sans said, crossing his arms over his chest. Somehow, he managed to sound even  _ more _ skeptical than before.

"I would never lie to you," You said, lying through your teeth. Well, so much for that.

Sans gave you a doubtful look, and it was only half-deserved. This was really the first time you had ever lied to him about something serious.

"ALRIGHT," he allowed, turning back towards where the other two police officers were standing. "WE'RE GOING TO BEND THE RULES A BIT AND DO SOME INVESTIGATING IN THE FOREST, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHAT WE'LL REALLY FIND. THESE TWO HAVEN'T COME ACROSS ANYTHING SUGGESTING A MURDER, AND THEY'VE BEEN STAYING HERE SINCE THEY SURFACED."

"at this point, i would say that no one knows these woods better than us," Serif interjected, his amusement falling for a more serious countenance. "we know all the official trails, and the unofficial ones. can't say much for the area on the other side of the mountain, but nobody goes too close to there anyway."

"Mm, true," you acknowledged. "Actually..."

You took out your phone, belatedly reminded of your promise to the Captain. No signal.

_ Shit. _ You'd totally forgotten.

Serif, noticing what you had done, nodded. "yep. we're not close enough to the mountain to feel its full effects, but you'll never be able to get a signal, even this far away."

You grunted in annoyance, stashing your (now useless) phone away again.

No one knew exactly what had occurred on Mt. Ebott, but it had created something of a magical dead zone. No signals in the mountain could reach the outside, and if you got too close to the mountain, you'd lose all electronics, and even things like cars and planes had been shown to be affected. Luckily, there had yet to be a major tragedy surrounding that, but air traffic was being permanently rerouted around the area.

That meant you wouldn't be able to call the Captain and let him know if you caught sight of Lt. Mason.

You took a moment to inhale, slowly, and exhale. That's alright. You knew that he would understand if you had to engage without direct orders, though he would definitely berate you for getting into this situation in the first place.

This would be fine. You didn't exactly need to have contact with any of the others for this, even though you would certainly prefer it.

"YES, I'D ALMOST FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT," Sans said, frowning faintly. "WE'LL HAVE TO BE CAREFUL. NO CONTACT MEANS NO BACKUP, IF WE NEED IT."

You resisted a snort. Nothing in this forest, Lt. Mason included, would be tough enough to go against you.

"WE WON'T NEED IT," Blue said firmly, walking over with the others. "OBSERVATION IS ONE THING, TRYING TO HUNT DOWN THE KILLER IS ANOTHER."

"SO, NOBODY THINK ABOUT PULLING ANY HEROICS," Edge concluded, giving you a squinty glare.

You raised your hands in surrender, inwardly sweating. "I wasn't planning on it!" 

You were.

"SO, NO WANDERING OFF ON YOUR OWN?" Sans added on.

"Of course not."

You definitely were.

"GOOD," Rus said, nodding encouragingly. He gave you a toothy grin, and you noticed absently that his teeth were sharp and jagged, different from the perfectly manicured sharpness that you had seen in some of the other skeleton monsters. "I WOULD HATE FOR YOU TO GET HURT!"

You  _ loved _ him. You would die for him.

Sans must have seen some of your thoughts in your face, because he elbowed you with a scowl. But the fact that he was basically as high as your knees right now had unfortunately diminished the impact.

"I'll stay out of trouble," you said agreeably. Honestly, that was the hope. If you managed to get ahold of Mason before he could spiral any further, you might be able to talk him out of it without violence. You'd probably have to put him in a chokehold, sure, but you wouldn't have to beat him up or anything.

"who's going to be out investigating?" Serif asked, tilting his cracked skull to the side in curiosity. "are you gonna split up, or what? is there a plan?"

"I think splitting up would probably be wise," you said quickly, wanting to get your point out before anyone could just shoot it down. "As Serif already mentioned, the woods are large, and the closer you get to the mountain, the tougher the terrain. Maybe two groups of three, if these guys would be willing to go with us?"

You turned on the brothers with a beseeching expression, and Rus nodded immediately, Serif looking a bit more reluctant.

"I WOULD BE DELIGHTED!" Rus said, striking a triumphant pose. "TO THINK, I, PAPYRUS, WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP IN A POLICE INVESTIGATION! IT'S LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE! EXCEPT I NEVER ACTUALLY DREAMED ABOUT DOING THAT. BUT THE PRINCIPLE STILL STANDS!"

You snorted, covering your mouth with your hand to hide your grin. "Sounds perfect. Are we agreed?"

The three police officers involved seemed a bit exasperated at the plans being made without their input, but grudgingly agreed.

"THIS WILL BE A PAIN, BUT IT'S OUR BEST OPTION," Blue said with a sigh. 

"JUST REMEMBER," Sans added, looking to his fellow officers. "THEY GAVE US THREE DAYS. AFTER THAT, THEY'LL PROBABLY ASSUME THE WORST."

You half-expected the others to protest, but an uneasy silence filled the clearing instead. It seemed that everyone was aware of what 'the worst' consisted of. 

You knew it, too. But their worst case-scenario still wasn't as awful as yours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: so, we're stuck in the woods with a possible serial killer, no cell reception and no one to come rescue us  
> blue: that is indeed the situation  
> reader: cool. you know what the best idea is?  
> sans: what?  
> reader: let's split up. the horror movie cliches will never be able to get us then  
> edge: oh my fucking god
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	19. ring that bell now

"not to kill the party or anything, but are you sure splitting up is the best idea?" Serif asked, making you slump in dismay. If anyone tried to question your motives too much, the whole plan would fall apart!

Not that it was much of a plan in the first place, but still.

"IT'S NOT A TERRIBLE PLAN," Sans allowed, though he didn't seem particularly enthused about it. "I DON'T THINK IT COULD HURT, AT ANY RATE."

"YEAH!" Blue agreed, grinning happily. He leaned over, slapping Serif on the shoulder and ignoring the disgruntled expression his counterpart shot him. "C'MON, LET'S TEAM UP!"

"I'll go with you," you said quickly, trying to get out of going with Sans. He knew you too well - and he was wise to most of your tricks. "We can be the fun investigative trio, like... uh... those three girls from the Nancy Drew series. I don't remember all their names, only Nancy. Obviously. I'm gonna shut up now."

"WAIT, I THINK THAT - " Sans began, unknowingly saving you from your Nancy Drew-induced embarrassment.

"THAT SOUNDS GOOD," Edge said, nodding briskly. Then he paused for a moment, the shadow of a grin tugging up his sharpened teeth. "AND THEIR NAMES WERE BESS AND GEORGE, BY THE WAY."

You blinked, and then let out a sharp laugh, covering your mouth with your hand. Edge gave you another respectful nod, and then grabbed Sans by the back of his jacket, pulling him away before he could protest any further. Res followed behind them happily, waving energetically to the three of you left in the clearing as he went.

You waved back fondly, with Blue and Serif doing the same, though the latter seemed a bit exasperated.

"Alright!" You clapped your hands together and turned to the two shorter skeletons, trying to seem cheerful. "We ready to go?"

"YEAH!" / "heh. i guess so."

...

Serif was a few paces ahead of the two of you, glancing around the surrounding woods with a frown, so you decided to take the opportunity while you had it.

"So, what was up with that?" you asked casually, your hands in your pockets.

Blue looked up at you, his eyelights wide and innocent. "EH? WITH WHAT?"

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, though you were admittedly a bit impressed by his act. Honestly, he reminded you a lot of Sans, in this moment. That should probably be obvious, seeing as they were counterparts to each other, but the subtle sharpness to his tone really drove the point home.

"What did Serif do?" you said lowly, making sure that the monster in question didn't hear you.

It had to be  _ something. _ Blue wasn't inherently malicious, even if he seemed to be a bit sneakier than people gave him credit for. You'd barely been around him for a few hours, and you could already tell.

At your pointed words, Blue actually turned away, something almost like regret flashing across his face.

"I... IT'S NOTHING," he said, and when you raised an eyebrow in doubt, he doubled down. "NO, REALLY. SERIF AND, UH, RUS, DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING. NOT TO ME, ANYWAY. IT'S... MORE WHAT THEY REPRESENT, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE."

Your eyes narrowed in thought. What they  _ represented? _

They were from a timeline called  _ Horrortale, _ that should be obvious enough. They had 'succumbed to violence and their baser instincts', whatever the hell that meant. Papyrus had tried to explain some more of these facts to you before you left (obviously trying to convince you not to go), but it hadn't really registered to you.

Maybe because it was nothing you hadn't seen before. Desperate times.

"I think they might represent different things to different people," you said eventually, thinking about Papyrus and the scars carved on his skull and how he had told you whispers of red eyes in the dark as he tried to light a cigarette with his shaking hands. To him, the Horrortale brothers represented a loss of control, more than anything else. But, somehow, you didn't think that was what Blue meant. "What do they represent to  _ you?" _

You suspected that to Sans and Edge, the brothers represented the same things that they did for Papyrus. Being from a 'darker' universe, they had to have more control over themselves than others. So, for someone like Blue, what could the brothers be?

For a long moment, you thought that he wasn't going to answer. Then, after a few more minutes of walking with only the sound of leaves crunching under your feet, he shrugged.

"It's going to sound bad," he spoke softly, more soft than you had ever heard from him before.

"That's okay." It was about the only thing you could say in reply. Besides, anything that Blue had to confess wouldn't be nearly as bad as some of the thoughts that had run through your head on your worst days.

"...Honestly, I'm just frustrated," he said, a helpless sort of grin emerging on his face. "I'm from a 'swapped' universe, or whatever, so even though I'm Sans, everyone expects me to act like my brother. But I don't like puzzles, and I really prefer Grillby's food, and I was never big on joining the Royal Guard."

O...kay? But what did that have to do with the Horrortale brothers?

"I like to help, though," he continued, putting a pause on your mused questions. "It's kind of become my 'thing', though I know that seems a bit arrogant to say. And I... I can't help them. They need help. And I can't be the one to do it. I... don't really  _ want _ to, either. It seems like it would be a bit of a hassle."

Then, Blue laughed, the sound low and mournful. He didn't look up at you, keeping his gaze trained on the ground instead. "Like I said, pretty bad, huh?"

You blinked, and thought about starving, and surviving only for yourself, and seeing bad things happen and turning away because it wasn't  _ your _ problem, and helping others only for the convenience of it and not once feeling bad about it until the day when you did.

"Could be worse," was all you said. This wasn't the time to try and tell him about what you two apparently had in common.

Blue must have heard something in your tone, however, because he looked up and smiled. A  _ real _ one, this time.

"oi, you two done gossiping back there?" Serif called out, grabbing your attention instantly. "I think i found something!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blue: hey, so, it turns out that i'm not as good a person as i pretend to be and i don't know how to express or work through that in a way that doesn't make me lash out at people :)  
> reader: bro,,, we are so connected,,, you're like my spirit animal,,,  
> blue: thanks. i think
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	20. we're in heaven,

You perked up at the call from his counterpart and bounded closer, immediately peering over Serif's shoulder to try and see what he had discovered.

Blue watched you go, slowing his pace just a little. He... wasn't really sure what to make of that conversation.

He could tell, just by looking into your eyes, that you really _did_ understand how he felt. How it felt to know that someone was hurting, and then deliberately turning away. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

How long had he been agonizing over this? Not only with the Horrortale brothers, but with counterparts from all sorts of different timelines, all those different versions of his brother and himself. Blue had been struggling with his emotions since _day_ _one,_ trying to balance his inherent desire to help others with his _own_ emotional and mental hangups.

His own brother was struggling. Papyrus, or Stretch as the others called him, had depression and anxiety and a whole host of other issues, and _Blue wasn't enough to help him._

And man, did that fucking _sting._

How could he expect to help others when he couldn't help his brother? When he couldn't even help _himself?_

_That_ was why he had chosen to join the royal guard, why he had decided to join the police force. It wasn't out of any real desire for justice, or because he liked to enforce the rules.

Blue just wanted to prove to himself that he could be a good person. Or, at least, that he could learn to _pretend._

But now, he felt like the illusion was falling apart. Hell, you had barely even known him for a few _hours,_ and even you had been able to tell that he was acting uncharacteristically nasty!

Honestly, Blue was a bit surprised that you had been the only one to call him out on it. Razz and Edge were usually more than willing to call him on his bullshit, and he was grateful for it even as he resented the necessity. He supposed that they were all a bit too distracted by the case that they were working on.

And, uh, for good reason.

He scrambled to catch up to the other two, a sudden urgency rushing through him. If Serif actually had found something good, he definitely didn't want to miss it!

" - drag marks, it looks like," you were saying, pointing to some strange markings in the dirt. Blue glanced over it, and had to agree. Those kinds of tracks were definitely indications that something big had been dragged this way. Something like a generally human-sized body, for example.

Serif eyed you, not really in suspicion, but with a certain exasperation.

"and i suppose you see drag marks a lot?" he said gruffly.

You smiled sheepishly, and shrugged. "Would you, uh, believe me if I said I used to be a Boy Scout?"

"no," Serif answered simply, and Blue had to agree.

There was something aged and wild inside of you, barely held back from bursting at the seams. It wasn't _frightening_ \- you had such a laid-back nature that Blue had found you to be instantly relaxing, especially since you could apparently put up with prissy Razz's nature so well that you were actually living with the guy. Honesty, Blue thought that you deserved a medal for that alone.

But regardless, he could never imagine you as part of anything that would force you to wear a uniform. The mere thought of it was hilarious.

"Ah, darn," you said, snapping your fingers in mock-irrigation. "Foiled again."

Blue smothered a snigger, and then decided it was about time to step in. He was the only actual investigator here, after all.

"HOWEVER YOU MAY HAVE FIGURED IT OUT, I HAVE TO AGREE," he chimed in, giving Serif a respectful nod as he moved to stand beside his fellow skeleton. He ignored the shifty look he got in return, though not without some guilt. He hadn't even known that the Horrortale brothers had chosen nicknames for themselves. He was going to have to try a bit harder, it seemed. "THESE TRACKS DEFINITELY MAKE IT SEEM LIKE SOMETHING WAS BROUGHT THROUGH HERE, AND MORE THAN ONCE."

"how do ya figure?" Serif said, though Blue noticed that he didn't have quite the same edge to his words as before. Blue counted that as his win of the day, and hastened to explain.

"THE TRACKS ARE DEEP," he said, "AND THERE'S NO FOOTPRINTS, TOO. EITHER THIS PERSON KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO GET RID OF ALL THE TRACKS, OR THEY USE THIS AREA SO EXTENSIVELY THAT THEIR FOOTPRINTS WOULD BE WIPED AWAY WITH ALL OF THE OTHER TRAFFIC."

You hummed in consideration, narrowing your eyes as you got a bit closer. You sniffed the air above the tracks carefully, and then paused, a puzzled expression crossing your face.

"Definitely smells human," you said, though still with a rather confused look. "And I think they might have used trash bags to take the bodies away. But it's... weird."

"HOW SO?" Blue asked, his instincts tingling. There was something _big_ here, he could just tell!

You didn't answer for a long moment, and when you did, you turned to Serif instead.

"Serif, what's the population like on this mountain?"

Serif blinked, and Blue couldn't help but mirror his befuddlement. What did that matter?

"none, as far as i know," he answered seriously anyway, but Blue could tell that he was wondering where this was going. "the mountain had a shitty reputation even before we showed up, and now that it's a dead zone not even the scientists can set up anything too close."

"WHY?" Blue cut in, feeling excitement stir up in him at the considering look on your face. It had been a long time since he'd had a good mystery. "IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA, THEN FEEL FREE TO SAY IT!"

You paused for a moment more, and then got to your feet, brushing off your pants. "Not so much an idea, yet, but... this case may not be as clear-cut as I thought it was going to be."

Blue knew that he should really be concerned by something like that, but all he could feel was exhilaration.

Oh well. He would work on starting to be a better person tomorrow. For now, he was going to revel in the joy of a good hunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blue: hmmmm,,, i am experiencing,,, emotions,,,  
> reader: cool, what's that like?
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	21. no more hell now.

This... this was  _ off. _

You couldn't smell Mason at all. That wasn't entirely strange - he was able to erase his scent just like you could, after all. But... you didn't see any other sign of his presence either. He left meals relatively intact when he was delivering them to someone else, like he had with you, but why would he bother if he was just feeding on his own?

And why the hell would he use  _ trash bags _ to drag the bodies?! You knew that was what had happened, you could smell the plastic in the air. Where would he even get trash bags in the first place?

Suddenly, you were hit with a horrifying revelation - he wasn't working alone. Someone else was doing the killing, someone else was luring victims in and bringing them to him,  _ someone else... _

You had never even considered it. You had no idea who could have possibly gotten close enough to Mason in this state to not be killed by him, or at least driven off. You would have heard if another one of your cousins had gone off the grid, right?

"everything alright?" Serif said lowly, forcibly yanking your thoughts from the downward spiral where they'd been heading. 

"Ah, just thinking," you said, your returning smile a bit strained. 

You didn't want to lie, not to them. Even if you had only known these other skeletons for a day, you could tell that they were good. They were like  _ your _ skeletons - proud, sincere, and kind monsters. Even with Blue's doubts, Serif and Rus’ situation, and Edge's slightly abrasive behavior, you knew that you wanted to be friends with them.

But... now, with how complicated the situation was becoming, you weren't sure you would be able to get through this entirely intact, let alone with all of your new friendships in place. 

It certainly wasn't going to be easy, by any means. Story of your life, right?

"Just thinking," you repeated, nodding to yourself. This was not the time to fall into doubts. You could handle this. "This is a big discovery. Should we head back and try to meet up with the others? If we followed this trail we could definitely find some clues, but I'm sure that those guys would prefer to do something like that together."

"I AGREE!" Blue jumped in, eyelights darting over the scene with a serious expression. "THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD TRY AND HANDLE ON OUR OWN, ESPECIALLY SINCE BOTH OF YOU DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO THAT ANYWAY."

"Hey man, we're in the wilderness now," you snickered, putting your hands in your pockets. "Wilderness rules only."

You realized, rather abruptly, just how much taller than the other two you were right now, and took a moment to compact yourself down, returning to your typical size and shape. It was still taller than them, of course, but the difference wasn't quite so jarring now, you hoped.

When you turned to look at them, they were both staring at you with their jaws dropped, giving them a remarkably similar appearance, despite everything else that was different about them.

You blinked.

"What?"

...

Tromping back onto the little cottage area, you saw that the others weren't back yet. That was fine - you wanted to have a little bit longer to think about what your story was, anyway. 

Serif immediately scurried back into his home, with Blue right behind him. He'd offered to let you in as well, but you had declined. You... You just needed to sit, for a moment. 

Laying yourself down on the grass, you took a deep breath as you bathed in the warmth of the sun. It felt like things had been going non-stop since you'd had to leave your apartment. Despite the skeleton brothers' and how wonderful they were, how much you loved them, you struggled to feel safe.

You were struck by the sudden thought. You felt... Well, you didn't know exactly what you were feeling. Whatever it was, it  _ hurt, _ and not in the way that anger and general pain did. It was a slow ache, the kind that started small and only continued to grow.

You were worried about Kenan, you realized. You were worried about her, and Felix, and Meanly. You missed your friends, your apartment, your shitty little place that was the size of a shoebox but was still  _ home _ all the same. You missed having an actual bed, too.

(Somewhere, in the back of your mind, you were also missing something else. Missing a base filled with people like you, people who understood, who knew what it meant to be a monster that wasn't supposed to exist. And you missed something even deeper than that, older than that - a place that you couldn't go back to anymore, a place that had been eroded away by time and distance.

You missed home.)

"WE'RE BACK!" a voice called out, and you shifted a bit to see Rus bounding towards you, a wide smile on his face. "AND WE HAVE A PLAN!"

You sat up, and soon the whole group was clustered around each other, sharing their findings.

"HM..." Edge said, tapping his chin. "I CANNOT FULLY AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT IF I DO NOT SEE THE SCENE MYSELF, BUT I TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT."

"Fair enough," you said, shrugging. "You said that you had a plan?"

"YES," Sans said, nodding with a determined expression. "WE WISH TO CONTINUE INVESTIGATING, AND PERHAPS EVEN MAKE AN ARREST. SO, ONE OF US SHOULD HEAD BACK DOWN THE MOUNTAIN TO GET A CELL SIGNAL, AND CONVINCE THE HIGHER-UPS TO LET US GO FORWARD WITH THAT."

You blinked. This was actually going better than you thought!

"Great. I'll head off to do some tracking in the meantime. Strictly no engagement," you hastily tacked on, knowing that they would protest if you didn't.

Edge and Sans both looked like they were going to shoot it down, but Blue convinced them otherwise, to your slight surprise. You didn't think he was actually willing to go to bat for you with his coworkers, though you were hardly going to argue.

" - AND," he added, when the other two officers had given their reluctant agreement, "I THINK RAZZ SHOULD BE THE ONE TO GO

Edge nodded to that, and you secretly agreed as well. The less Sans was around, the less likely he was to stop your plan.

"WHY ME?" Sans asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"BECAUSE WE TRUST YOU TO GET THE JOB DONE," Blue said simply.

You applauded him for that little maneuver - Sans already seemed more agreeable, straightening up to make himself taller.

"SO, WE'RE AGREED?" Edge said, looking down at Sans expectedly.

Sans huffed, but agreed to go down the mountain nevertheless. You patted his shoulder gently, pulling him into a half-hug.

"Don't worry, man," you said, allowing yourself some humor. "I promise I won't get into too much trouble while you're gone."

And you meant it. All you had to do was find out whoever Mason was working with, take them both down, and send the accomplice off as a scapegoat and make Mason go back to base.

Easy.

...

Walking back down the mountainside, Sans was immediately notified when his phone got a signal back. His pocket buzzed with a text notification, and he slid the phone out to see what it was.

A second later, he realized that this wasn't  _ his _ phone. Shit. He must have grabbed yours by mistake - in the past, it had happened too many times to count. Why on earth did the two of you decide to get the exact same phone cases?

He sighed, about to put it back in his pocket and grab his own phone, when he saw the still lit-up notification on the phone's screen. Without even any conscious thought, his eyelights flicked over the message, reading it before he could stop himself.

_ *Mason has returned home. Seems like he only had the one incident. Call me when you get this. _

It was from someone whose contact was labeled as 'Captain'.

Sans frowned, puzzled. What was that about?

Well, whatever. He dismissed it, pulling out his own phone. He could talk to you about it after all of this was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: i'm so glad that this is a clear-cut case where i know exactly what's going on  
> plot point: hahaha... that's adorable
> 
> enjoy the plot twist lol. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	22. now they’re dead,

As soon as Sans was gone, you didn't waste any time. The others were still rather leery about letting you go off on your own, which was understandable from their perspective, seeing as there was apparently a serial killer just wandering around the woods randomly murdering people. You got it, you really did.

But you firmly told them that you would be fine on your own, and that you were capable of this much at least.

Blue was actually the first one to agree - apparently, seeing you change your shape so easily was an impressive feat, which you honestly hadn't intended. It had been strange to you at first, but now it was just a part of your life, and you could never imagine going back to the way you had been before.

With Blue's agreement, Edge easily backed down, and the Horror brothers gracefully bowed out when the two police officers still present said that it was okay. You didn't have any actual power in this situation, so you really had to hide a sigh of relief when they decided not to make you stay behind. You weren't an officer, after all - you were just here as a favor to a friend.

(And to take care of a little problem of your own, but they didn't know that.)

"YOU WILL REALLY BE OKAY?" Rus said worriedly, his hands hovering in front of him like he wanted to reach out and touch you, but wasn't sure that it would be welcome. "IT'S GETTING LATE. THE PATHS CAN ALL START TO LOOK THE SAME ONCE THE SUN GOES DOWN."

You gently took his hands in yours, squeezing them lightly. "I understand, thank you for your concern, Rus. I may not look it now, but I did used to spend a lot of my life in the wilderness. I know how to handle a forest after dark, I promise. And I mean it when I say that my nose is nothing to scoff at. I'll be able to find this place again even if I was blind and bleeding out."

Rus made a strangled sound of horror, and Serif let out a raspy laugh. 

"let's try to not let it get to that point, sweetheart," he said, and though his tone was slightly admonishing, his expression was lined with good humor. "here."

He held out his hand, and when you curiously placed yours in his, he took a moment to strap a slightly battered watch around your wrist.

"i set it to go off in two hours," he explained. "that's around the time that you should head back if you wanna get back here before any of the big animals start to roam around."

You could just do the same thing with your phone, honestly, but the fact that he'd put so much thought into it for you was touching.

"Sounds like a plan," you nodded, smiling widely at him. Serif swiftly stepped away when he realized that he was still standing so close to you, reaching up to trace his empty eye socket with one hand in some kind of nervous gesture.

"stay safe."

"INDEED!" Rus jumped back in, looking a little more at ease now that his brother had given you something to keep you on track. "THESE WOODS HOLD MANY MYSTERIES, MOST OF WHICH EVEN WE HAVE NOT EVEN BEGUN TO CRACK INTO."

"SO, STAY OUT OF TROUBLE," Edge ordered, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at you critically. "I REFUSE TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH RAZZ'S WHINING SHOULD YOU SOMEHOW MANAGE TO GET YOURSELF KILLED."

"YEP!" Blue added, giving you a jovial smile as he patted you on the shoulder. "LIKE EDGE SAID, WE WOULD BE SAD IF YOU GOT HURT. SO PLEASE BE CAREFUL!"

"I'll do my best!" You laughed, waving over your shoulder as you headed out of the clearing.

Behind you, you could hear the sound of Edge sputtering in offense, shouting; "I DIDN'T SAY THAT AT ALL, YOU - "

You shook your head, chuckling to yourself.

What a funny bunch. A little more high-strung than your skeletons, certainly, (and that was saying something), but you were really glad that you had gotten this opportunity to meet them.

...

It didn't take you long at all to get back to the area where you'd first found the scent. You still though something was a bit off about it, but you were determined not to let your nerves distract you.

This was important.  _ Mason _ was important, and so were the people he risked by being out in public in this state. You were just going to deal with two birds with one stone.

Staying low to the ground, you actually went through the trouble of compressing yourself down into a smaller shape, smaller than what you were comfortable with. You were barely five feet tall now, and you felt like you were about to burst at the seams, but you forced yourself to bear with it.

The less you disturbed the wildlife right now, the better. You were honestly lucky that everyone had been too distracted to notice the conspicuous lack of birds in your vicinity, not to mention little creatures like chipmunks or squirrels. Nothing like that would ever dare get near you.

Luckily for them, they weren't what you were hunting tonight.

Only a little bit longer along the trail, you smelled it - blood. And, a  _ lot _ of it.

This wasn't a recent kill. No, this was many, many kills, over a certain period of time. And that... that didn't make  _ sense! _

Mason couldn't be responsible for this. He hadn't been away from the Base for that long, it was impossible that  _ all _ of these kills were his. That assistant of his that you were concerned about... was it possible that they were a serial killer?

Well, they already would be, just based on the fact that they were helping him, but... this made it more serious than you thought it was.

With an expression of concentration on your face, you knelt down and pursed your lips, trying to figure this out. Based on the scent, you were probably close to their home base. But at the same time, your two hours were almost up, and the sky was an array of colors as dusk fell over the land.

Should you continue? Or should you go back and wait with the others?

While you were pondering this, the decision was taken out of your hands.

The sound of something large rushing in from behind you caught your attention immediately, and you spun around to come face-to-face with a young boy.

Well, maybe  _ young _ was too generous - he seemed to be in his mid-twenties. But he was certainly younger than you. He had a ferocious expression on his face, and a wooden bat held aloft in his hands.

"Okay, okay, let's just wait a second and - " 

Holding your hands up in the position of surrender, you didn't even have a chance to finish your sentence before the boy swung his bat around, promptly smashing it against your skull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans, in the middle of a conversation with his boss: actually wait excuse me for a moment  
> boss: what -  
> sans: *hangs up*  
> sans: my idiot needs me
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	23. goodbye to dread

You blinked, shaking your head slightly to wipe the mild haziness from your brain. That was... rude. Understandable, but rude.

The boy stared back at you in horror, the broken bat dangling from his hands.

"What the  _ fuck?" _ he spoke, taking a step back when you stood up. "What  _ are _ you?"

You  _ smiled. _

"I'm a monster. But you already knew that."

You only gave him enough time to gasp before you pounced, stretching your limbs and looming over his fallen form. You knew that your face must look absolutely horrific right now, skin stretched tight across your bones and eyes shrunken in like a corpse, but this boy smelled like blood and the wretched stench of fear and you held no pity for him.

"Tell me," you said quietly, letting your breath brush his stark-white face. "Have you seen any other monsters like me lately?"

He shook his head, frantically, too terrified to even try to throw you off him. "No, no, I swear! There was just that siren bitch, no shapeshifters!"

You didn't bother to correct his assumption, eyes narrowing as you thought of what he just said.

"Siren bitch?" You knew that some other surfacers had been killed, but... You hadn't been told who, or even  _ what _ they were. You doubted a guy like this had managed to catch an  _ actual _ siren. 

Besides, Mason would have never gone for that - he hated fish.

"Yeah, she, she uh," he stammered, eyes flicking down to catch a glimpse of your newly-sharp teeth. "She tried to like, seduce her way out of it or whatever, but my brother killed her before she could do anything."

Ah. Definitely not a siren, then. A succubus, most likely. 

Your hands dug further into the dirt. An innocent woman had  _ died _ because of this little bastard. Maybe Mason ate her corpse, but this guy and his brother  _ killed her. _

You were  _ pissed. _

"Brother?" you said, words a near-growl.

He paled even further, mouth working uselessly as he tried to figure out something to say, something to calm you down. There was nothing that he could do, though.

You were  _ done _ being passive.

"What the hell is going on here?" a voice shouted from behind you, and you twisted your head around without moving the rest of your body, making the three people approaching you from the back all recoil in disgust.

"It's a  _ monster," _ one woman whispered, her hands clutched to her mouth in terror. You got the feeling that she had just realized that she was in a bit over her head.

You didn't care.  _ You didn't care. _

They all stunk of blood.

"Ah, I see," you said, appearing more calm than you actually felt. "It seems I've made a mistake.

Yeah, you'd gone and fucked it right and proper, apparently. There was no way that this was Lt. Mason's fault -  he might have worked with one ally, but definitely not an entire group of them, with more on the way if you were hearing those approaching voices correctly.

These were just a bunch of normal cannibals!

Honestly, it would have been a relief if you weren’t so fucking  _ outraged. _

"So, what the fuck do y'all think you're doing?" you said, standing and allowing the boy to scramble out from underneath you to join his cohorts.

You moved so that the rest of your body was in line with your head, never shifting your gaze from their faces. Your anger burned through you, for once managing to keep the hunger at bay. 

You were going to kill them.

(kill them kill them  _ k i l l t h e m - ) _

"W-What?" One brave soul blurted out, taking a step back when you moved forward.

_ "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" _ you repeated, letting a beastial snarl underscore your words. "This mountain may not have internet, but that doesn't mean you're fucking isolated from the world. If you need food, go down to the goddamn town! If you have no money, go to a food bank! Beg on the streets!  _ Anything, _ other than murdering innocent people."

You had done all those things. You had swallowed your fucking pride and asked for help, because you would have fucking  _ died _ without it.

These people - they weren't  _ starving. _ Their cheeks were plump, their skin a healthy pallor. They weren't doing this for food. They were doing this for  _ sport. _

The bodies had been harvested for meat, Edge had said. That's not the result of someone being desperate. That's someone who's  _ practiced. _

You grew and grew and  _ grew, _ lumbering forward until you were towering over them. When you opened your mouth, your teeth were like needles and your eyes had become mere pinpricks, but none of that hindered you in the least.

This was about as close to your natural form as you were willing to get, and it only fueled the rage boiling within you.

**RUN** you said, or maybe whispered directly into their minds, or maybe screamed it into their ears.  **RUN AND HOPE I DO NOT CATCH YOU**

The boy you had pinned down was the first one to break, screeching as he ditched the rest of the group and ran behind them, heading for the gray, concrete building that you could faintly see in the distance.

The sun was setting. You had been due back a while ago now, and the last rays of sunlight were illuminating your monstrous form.

**RUN**

You spoke/screamed/whispered again, and they  _ ran. _

Scrambling over each other, practically gibbering in their fear, they  _ run and run and run. _

Your mind was hazing over. They were running.

_ You had to chase. _

...

Sans stomped back up the path, feeling like a storm cloud was hovering over him. His conversation with their superiors had not gone well.

Oh, they were allowed to go on with the investigation, but backup would be less forthcoming.

They were on their own.  _ Typical. _

Sans had known that from the start, of course. Wouldn't it be a conflict of interest for the only three skeleton monsters in the police force to be spent to deal with these suspects? Serif and Rus were literally the same monsters as them, just from an alternate timeline.

Wasn't it a bad idea to send  _ only _ them to investigate?

Of course it was. But it was also  _ easier. _

Sans was fond of the humans and other monsters in his station, knew that he was well-liked in return, even with his... 'attitude', as the others called it.

But higher-ups that never even visited the station were still the ones that got to make the shots, and they didn't give a shit about him.

Damn it.

Understandably, he was in a bad mood when he returned to the clearing where the others were standing.

Instantly, they jumped and turned to him, with almost  _ guilty _ expressions on their faces.

His mood soured even further the second he realized why.

"And where, pray tell, is my roommate?" he snarled, crossing his arms over his chest.

He had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans: you better not be getting up to any of your weird bullshit again  
> reader: what?? *scrambles to hide fifty corpses behind the bushes* uh, i would never
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	24. we're all smiles now,

Sans was about to fucking _scream._

An hour. You were supposed to be back an _hour_ ago, and these chucklefucks hadn't gone after you yet. Sure, you could probably take care of yourself, but there was probably a homicidal maniac out in those woods!

Did he have to do _everything_ around here?

"ALRIGHT, GRAB YOUR SHIT," he ordered, not giving the others a chance to protest, though they didn't seem like they were going to. "WE HAVE PERMISSION TO DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY TO GET THE JOB DONE. NO BACKUP, BUT WE EXPECTED THAT."

Serif blinked, even as he casually took a large, bloody ax out of his inventory. "expecting it? what, the rest of the station all on vacation or something? nobody willing to lend you guys a hand?"

His voice was slightly mocking when he said it, but for once, Sans decided to let it slide. The monsters of Horrortale had been through a... rough transition to the surface, and Sans knew that he, too, was responsible for perpetuating that. His own instincts had chafed against him at the thought of allowing dangerous monsters like those of Horrortale to walk free, even though they had no desire to involve themselves in any kind of violence whatsoever.

He knew that Serif and Rus had gotten screwed over a lot, and were still dealing with the aftereffects of it, so, just this once. He would let Serif have that one.

Instead, he turned to Edge, who nodded in grim understanding.

"WE ARE ALLOWED USE OF MAGIC, THEN?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"YES," Sans answered, carefully smothering the flare of anger that came to him at the thought of those ridiculous guidelines. "AND DEADLY FORCE."

Though, those practically constituted as the same thing in the eyes of the law.

"WAIT, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC?" Rus asked, looking extremely concerned at the possibility.

Sans found himself softening against his will, faced with this skeleton who looked so much like his own brother.

"We're part of law enforcement," he explained, calming himself down from his near-hissy fit. "It was decided that we would only be able to use our magic in specific circumstances. Magic is a tool, and so they chose to treat it as a gun. Never to be used except in cases when you have no choice. This only applies when we're on duty, of course. Off duty we have the same rights as any other monster citizen."

"OH..." Rus said, tilting his head to the side. "I DIDN'T KNOW THAT."

Serif, by his brother's side, seemed to be examining the three police officers with different eyes.

Stubbornly, Sans looked away. He didn't do this because he wanted their pity, or anything like that. A weakness for a weakness, maybe.

But right now, it hardly mattered.

"WHATEVER," he said, turning sharply and heading straight for the woods. No doubt, his idiotic roommate had managed to get into a shitload of trouble right now. Seriously, he couldn't leave you alone for five seconds without you getting into some kind of bullshit.

He hadn't told the others about your possible connection to this case, about the body found in your apartment. It seemed more and more like they were separate killings, based on how different the situations were, but he was still concerned.

And he'd kept it to himself, because he knew that was what you wanted. Sans had kept vital information from his partners in the police force, and if you had actually gotten hurt because of it, he would never forgive himself.

"LET'S GO," he said, glaring sharply at the group that hadn't gone after you immediately in the first place. "I HAVE AN IDIOT TO GET MY HANDS ON, AND I HOPE YOU ALL KNOW THAT WHEN THAT'S OVER, YOU'RE NEXT."

Collectively, the other skeletons all winced, Blue and Edge looking particularly disgruntled, as they knew exactly how bad his punishments were.

Well, good, Sans thought spitefully. If this situation got any worse, there was going to be a hell of a lot of punishment to deal out!

...

_run run run_

_they're all running. chase?_

_chase._

Your feet were pounding against the ground, dodging around obstacles and traps. There was someone running from you. Why were they running? Did you do something? Did _they_ do something?

You can't recall.

But they run, they run, scurrying away from you like rats, like ants, like something tiny and insignificant and afraid to die.

You felt a laugh bubbling up inside of you, and you didn't know why. These things, these creatures, they were so... so pathetic. So mindless. When you reached out and just barely managed to scrape one's back, it screamed, the sound shrill and echoing off your ears.

It only made you move faster.

You could end this now. You were strong enough, agile enough, that you could grab onto one of these squalling creatures and end it, but somehow, you didn't want to. You were only chasing, not hunting.

Right? Right.

You didn't need to hunt. Sure, you were still hungry, but there was something in you that urged you to hold back, to not go that far. Something that warned you, told you that if you went over that line, you wouldn't be able to come back.

Not again.

But suddenly you didn't have time to think, didn't have the patience to puzzle through the strange mush in your mind.

There was more yelling, now. More? More.

More were coming, coming with their strange, tiny guns that were nothing like the ones you remembered, and the naked stench of fear in the air around you.

Good...? _Good._

That was what you wanted. You wanted them afraid. You... couldn't remember why. But it was important.

_(everyone is always so afraid you are so afraid those people must have been so afraid how dare they how dare they how dare they use their fear like this what do they have to be afraid of you will_ give _them something to be afraid of - )_

In front of you, someone tripped. Their knee split open when they fell, and for a moment, you stilled.

blood? _... **b** l **o** o **d**. _

**_hungry hungry hungry_ **

You lunged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: finally, some good fucking food  
> sans, from twenty miles away: no!! bad!! i can't see or hear you but i know you're being bad!!
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	25. lose that frown now

What was it? What was that...  _ creature? _

She scrambled backwards, tears blurring her vision as she tried futile to escape. When had it all gone so wrong?

...Probably the murders and subsequent cannibalism, if she was being honest.

But, so what?! Nothing bad had ever happened - well, until right now, anyway. Hm. Maybe that was a sign.

Shit, she really couldn't be thinking of that right now, she was trying to run for her life!

Cursing as she tripped over a tree root, she lurched forward on her hands and knees, pushing off against the dirt to try and give herself some leverage. She knew that she was getting dirt underneath her nails and she'd probably ripped the fabric over her knees by now; her mind kept going back to that, strangely. She was hazy and lost, but these were new jeans. She just bought these jeans. 

Was she going to die in these jeans? If so, she would've bought better jeans. Maybe ones that wouldn't have ripped so easily.

Just a few feet behind her, one of her cousins went down, a cry ripping from his throat as the creature fell upon him, a spray of blood echoing in the corner of her vision. She didn't stop, didn't even slow down - they wouldn't try to help her, so why should she try to help them?

Even within their family, it's a dog eat dog world. But still,  _ shit, _ everything used to be so much simpler.

Mt. Ebott was the perfect place for their operation. People went missing on this mountain all the time. It was cursed, right? Doomed. Anyone who came here was an idiot that  _ deserved _ to die. 

So they hunted those idiots down, showed them what happened to fools who wandered into the monster's nest.

And then monster turned out to be real. Real, and  _ inside the mountain. _

There were plenty  _ outside _ the mountain too, but she had already vaguely known about that. And they weren't that impressive, really - vampires and werewolves and demons, they were all the same. Human-shaped and pathetic, lost to their instincts. Once you knew how to kill them, they were just as easy to hunt as any human who trespassed on their mountain.

But this thing... This  _ thing... _

It let out a horrid screech, drool dripping from its open jaws, rows of teeth going  _ back and back and back _ as its mouth opened impossibly wide. She tried not to look, she couldn't afford to lose her concentration, but she couldn't help it, her morbid curiosity pushing her to turn around, to see what manner of monster the creature had become.

Just as she was afraid that she had lost herself, lost her  _ mind, _ her family's gray, concrete compound was finally within sight.

The door was open, her brother and a couple of others gathering by the entrance, looking out to see what all the ruckus was.

"LET ME THROUGH!" she shrieked, suddenly feeling all of her panic and fear rush back into her at the sight of salvation. "T-THERE'S - MONSTER! LET ME IN AND  _ SHUT THE FUCKING DOOR!" _

They all scattered, most of them running back into the compound. Only her brother waited, holding onto the door, before, out of nowhere, he abruptly paled, letting out a strangled gasp.

She knew what was coming, but still - she locked eyes with her brother,  _ pleading. _

He looked back at her, eyes wide, and slammed the door shut.

A moment later her vision went white, an awful gurgling sound bubbling up from her throat as pain erupted up her side.

She collapsed, spitting out blood and trying desperately to get to her feet, to just  _ get to the door - _

She was pulled back, something grasping onto her leg and slowly,  _ so _ slowly pulling her away from her salvation. She looked back, despite everything that was telling her not to, and her scream died in her throat.

The creatures clothes were in tatters, barely hanging onto its long, skeletal frame. Its skin was stretched horribly, like an ill-fitting bodysuit. She could see that its legs were twisted backwards like a goat, and its arms were so long that they must have scraped the ground even when it was standing to its full height.

Its skin was pallid and sickly, no warmth of life to be found. It looked like a mutated corpse.

"P-Please," she gasped out, fear keeping her trapped just as much as the creature's grip on her leg. "Please let me go, please,  _ please _ \- "

It cocked its head at her, almost curiously. She couldn't read its body language - its eyes were sunken-in and misted over, no light to be found. She didn't even know if it could  _ understand _ her, but she had to try something.

She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die, not like  _ them, _ not like those pathetic and worthless creatures she had revelled in hunting for so long.  _ She couldn't die like this. _

It leaned forward, and even when its face was practically pressed up against hers, she felt no breath on her skin. This thing was truly dead, like a vampire if vampires even worked this way.

She didn't know. She didn't  _ know. _ Monsters were  _ beneath _ her, she didn't know anything about them!

**"Hungry?"** it rumbled out, more a question than anything else.

She shivered, thinking belatedly about what had kept the creature, what had taken it so long to catch up to her. God, had it been  _ eating _ her family members?

_ "Please," _ she breathed out, tears rushing down her face anew. "Please let me live."

For a second, she thought she saw a spark of intelligence in its eyes. For a second, she remembered how the thing had been before, full of righteous fury and that tiny spark of humor, angry and disappointed and unsurprised all at once.

For a second, she felt  _ hope. _

Then -  **"Hungry,"** the creature said decisively, and one of its long, clawed hands reached out to grab her by the upper arm, pulling her up and off the ground as it stood to its full height.

She stared at it, speechless, as it opened its jaws  _ wide wide wide. _

_ She was going to die. _

And then - she suddenly found herself weightless, her body glowing a dark blue when she glanced down at her chest. 

She was thrown to the ground, a few feet away from the beast, and another monster planted himself in front of her.

"DON'T FUCKING MOVE," he growled, looking back at her for a moment with a harsh snarl on his face. "I'LL DEAL WITH YOU IN A MOMENT."

He turned back to face the creature, not even a spark of fear in his stance.

"AND YOU. EXACTLY WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU IDIOT?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: hungry?  
> sans: then eat a fucking sandwich you gigantic dumbass
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	26. no more monsters

Sans stood there entirely unbothered by your drooling, monstrous state, hands on his hips as he adopted the scolding pose that you knew so well.

"I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY," he snapped, glaring fiercely. "DID YOU FORGET THAT WE CAME HERE WITH A JOB TO DO? STOP MAKING SUCH A NUISANCE OF YOURSELF, AND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, SHRINK BACK DOWN SO I CAN GIVE YOU SOME PROPER CLOTHES. NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT MUCH OF YOUR SKINNY ASS."

You cocked your head to the side, looking down on him.

Honestly, Sans wasn't sure that you could actually  _ understand _ him. There had been times when he'd been forced to talk down (or eliminate) monsters that had gone feral when he was still back in Swapfell, but none of them had acted like  _ this. _ They were uncontrollable, completely rabid. Not... quiet. Childlike, almost, in the way your shrunken-in eyes examined him.

He actually felt a bit bad for saying such harsh words to you, with the state you were in, but you didn't seem to register them at all. You only stared.

Sighing, he tried for a gentler tone. "COME ON, NOW. THE OTHERS ARE GOING TO BE HERE SOON. YOU WANT TO LEAVE THEM WITH A GOOD IMPRESSION, DON'T YOU?"

They were already quite aware that something was up, considering the injured humans they had discovered (none damaged beyond recovery, thankfully), and the torn-up landscape. But this situation wasn't beyond repair.

He knew a bit of this behavior, what it signified. You had been playing with the humans, toying with them in the way a lazy cat bats around its food. You were not completely gone, he was  _ sure _ of it.

Sans just had to bring you back to him. Preferably, before the other skeletons could arrive and see what a mess you were. And also preferably before Papyrus finally caught wind of what was going on and stormed the mountain, because Sans was quite sure that his younger brother was going to have a (likely internal and completely deadpan) conniption once he found out what they'd been up to.

"IT'S TIME TO COME BACK, NOW," he said, and he reached out a hand towards you. Sans didn't bother to try and seem less threatening or anything like that - there was no way that he could do anything to cause you harm in this state, even if he had wanted to. Besides, you knew him, even if you couldn't currently recognize him. You knew that he was  _ never _ harmless. "THE FIGHT IS OVER NOW. IT'S TIME TO COME HOME."

Finally, his words seemed to have some kind of impact, as you shook your head with a confused expression, backing away slightly.

**"...hungry...?"** you muttered, hesitatingly, glancing at him in a manner more shy than he had ever seen from you before.

"THERE'S FOOD AT HOME," Sans coaxed, stepping forward to stay close to you even as you backed away further, a shade of some emotion he couldn't recognize flashing across your face. "AND I'M SURE THAT RUS AND SERIF ARE PLANNING TO MAKE A FEAST AFTER ALL OF THE EXCITEMENT TODAY. YOU'LL HAVE FOOD, I PROMISE."

And a promise from a Sans was not something to be taken lightly.

That was the final push. Sans didn't know if it was the promise of food or just the promise specifically, but you finally stopped retreating, and even moved a bit closer, lowering your large head down to look at him closely.

He held his breath upon seeing that face up close. It wasn't the fact that it was nearly skeletal - he was a literal skeleton, after all. But it was somehow...  _ painful, _ seeing you like this. You looked too thin, strung out. To him, it wasn't so much  _ horrifying _ as it was  _ depressing. _ It really brought to memory the usual thinness of your waist, the way all your clothes hung off of you no matter how tall you made yourself, the way you almost tried to  _ gorge _ yourself on food whenever you got the chance.

Sans had no idea what type of monster you were. Clearly, that information was going to change shortly, but...

Somewhere, deep inside of him, he thought that it must be an exceptionally cruel existence.

Carefully, he reached out a single hand, placing it on your cheek. He valiantly didn't flinch at the strange, off-putting sensation of your bones and muscles moving under such a thin, fragile layer of skin, but he couldn't help but compare it to the typical version of you, who at the very least didn't make him afraid that he would cut through your skin with even the slightest touch.

"WE'RE ALRIGHT NOW," he murmured. "COME ON, LOVE."

Sans rarely used his brother's pet name for you, but if there was ever a time to start, he figured that it was now.

Your whole being seemed to shudder for a moment, and slowly, ever so slowly, you began to shrink underneath his gentle hands. The process was much slower than usual, and though it was honestly horrid to watch, Sans didn't allow himself to look away.

In what felt like hours later, you were finally a (vaguely) normal size and shape, your features having returned to what you typically employed, though your eyes were still lost and somewhat hazy.

You were on your knees now, just tall enough for him to cup your face. One hand came up to clutch at his arm, but it seemed more  _ pleading _ than anything else, so Sans didn't shake you off.

On the contrary, he only held onto you tighter, trying to ground you back into reality.

"You did just fine," he muttered, leaning in to press his forehead against yours. "No one was killed. I'm sure the others are getting some very eager confessions out of the ones you left behind right now.  _ No one is dead. _ Whatever line you've been afraid of crossing, it hasn't happened yet.  _ Come back, _ love."

You shuddered one final time, a full body shake that was almost enough to make his own bones rattle in sympathy, and finally looked up at Sans, a weak smile playing on your lips.

"Fuck... Guess at this point I owe you a bit of an explanation, huh?"

_ That _ was putting it mildly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: is it time for my tragic backstory yet??  
> me: no. must make the readers suffer. also tie up rest of the plot first  
> sans: you're the real monster here
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	27. get us down now

Serif scowled at the babbling human at his feet, tugging absentmindedly at his empty eye-socket.

How the hell could he have possibly missed this? A clan of cannibals, living on the same mountain as him. Shouldn't that kind of thing be way out of date by now?

Then again, the suspicious circumstances of Mt. Ebott were the perfect cover-up. He and Papyrus were the only ones who decided to stay on the mountain, even though plenty of timelines had managed to escape their imprisonment. None of the monsters wanted to stay on the mountain, and no humans wanted to live out here with no internet or electricity of any kind. It really was a damn good hiding place.

He had to admire that, if grudgingly. Besides, if what these bastards had said was true, they had been here for generations - way before the monsters had broken the barrier. This was a long-con, definitely.

_ Still, _ he thought to himself, sneering at the sobbing cannibals they had all gathered in a circle, this was pathetic.

"Y-You don't understand!" one of them shouted, shaking like a leaf. "There's something out here, it's a freak! It tried to kill us!"

Serif had to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes, but Edge had no such issue.

"WELL, THAT'S YOUR OWN FAULT," he said briskly, his eyelights glowing a burnt orange color as he kept them all restrained. "DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP UP THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR WITH NO CONSEQUENCES? YOU KILLED AT LEAST ONE VAMPIRE, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THE CLANS ARE SEARCHING YOU DOWN WITH A VENGEANCE EVEN AS WE SPEAK."

Another one of the criminals, this one with a bloody nose and a fantastic bruise on his cheek, spat bitterly on the ground.

"Who gives a shit about that?" he said with a huffed laugh, actually making Serif turn and look at him in astonishment. "Vamps are just as fragile and stupid as the rest of them. All those fucking monsters... The only reason that they weren't locked underground with you freaks is because it's more fun to keep them around as target practice.

Serif... honestly had no response to that. Surfacers,  _ weak? _ The mere thought was ridiculous. And this guy's assessment was completely off. Surfacers had strong souls, pretty much identical to humans. They were certainly stronger than any Underground monster, and they were all much more widespread, too. Obviously they couldn't have been locked underground - they lived all over the world.

This guy... was just  _ dumb. _

And Serif's brother clearly shared that assessment, because Rus hid a snort behind his hand, politely trying to stifle the noise.

"are ya an idiot?" Serif said sharply, nudging the guy with the tip of his axe. That was enough to make him shut up, paling abruptly at the sight of the bloody weapon.

Serif just gave him a toothy grin. He may only use this axe on hunted game, now, but in the old days...

_ Well. _ In the old days, a guy like this would never have lasted this long in the first place.

Blue seemed to realize where his mind was going, because he stepped in front of Serif, giving him a commiserating grin.

Serif backed off, though the action felt less bitter than it would have even a day ago. He felt like he... understood his counterparts a bit better, now. He could tell that Blue had done that because he was trying to move things along and wrap this case up, not because he was afraid of Serif going crazy and trying to kill them all.

It was a much more relieving revelation than he thought it would be.

"WE SHOULD GO ON AHEAD," Blue said, his hands on his hips as he and Edge shared a significant glance. "I'M SURE RAZZ HAS FOUND HIS ROOMMATE BY NOW, AND LIKELY THE REST OF THE CRIMINALS AS WELL."

Yeah, if what these guys had been saying was any indication, the rest of the cannibals were probably  _ with _ them.

A big monster, huh...? Well, he wasn't going to pry. And he was sure that Razz wouldn't let the others interfere either, knowing how possessive he was (it was one of many traits that they shared, for all that he didn't like to admit it). 

"I'LL STAY HERE WITH THEM," Edge said, and then he glanced over to where the Horrortale brothers were standing. "WOULD ONE OF YOU STAY AS WELL? EXTRA INSURANCE NEVER HURTS."

Rus nodded immediately, which saved Serif the trouble of thinking up an excuse not to, smiling brightly.

"I WOULD LOVE TO SPEND TIME WITH OUR NEW HUMAN FRIENDS!" Rus looked down at the captives as his grin widened, showing off his exceptionally sharp teeth.

One of them whimpered.

Serif sniggered, and hefted his axe over his shoulder, meandering past the group to stand with Blue.

"sounds like a plan, bro. have fun."

He shared a grin with his policeman counterpart (marveling at how easy it felt)  and headed off, following the trail of blatant destruction. A little farther up, Serif could make out a gray, concrete building.

Before that, though, he caught sight of a trail of blood, streaking red and clumped on the grass.

Next to him, Blue tsked and sped up his pace, actually looking worried for a moment. Serif didn't share the sentiment, not on this.

His instincts had prickled from the moment he first saw you. He was hardly worried about  _ you _ getting hurt out here.

And it appeared that his confidence wasn't unfounded - when the two of them entered the clearing, the building now only a few paces away, he saw you and Razz standing together, Razz appearing to be scolding you while you rubbed the back of your head, looking rather sheepish.

Upon hearing them approach, you raised your head, giving them a little wave. Serif noticed, belatedly, that you were wearing a huge, gray sweatshirt that he had never seen before (though it still seemed vaguely familiar), and that your pants had somehow turned themselves into a pair of torn shorts.

"Hey, guys," you said, smiling even as Razz subsided from his lecture with an angry huff. "Sorry to make you come all the way out here. This is all gonna take some cleaning up, huh?"

"no kidding," Serif snorted, moving to stand a little bit closer to you.

You smelled like blood, and... something else. Something  _ rotten. _

He caught your eyes for a moment, and looked away. He wasn't going to pry, no matter how much it intrigued him.

No matter how sharp your grin had become.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: backstory now?  
> me: no. must suffer.
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	28. now they’ve passed,

You felt... god, you honestly weren't  _ sure _ what you were feeling. You were weirdly numb, just floating along with the proceedings as they went.

Your shoes had survived the transformation (barely), and Sans had luckily had one one of Papyrus' old sweatshirts in his item box, so he'd been able to lend you that for now.

You were  _ fine. _ You hadn't killed anyone, hadn't started going back down that path. It should have been a comforting thought - would have been enough to make you sob with the sheer relief on any other day, but you couldn't bring yourself to actually use up that much energy.

Interactions with the skeletons that arrived on the scene were sparse and absent minded; you were really only saved by the fact that they were immediately swept up in the wave of arrests and potential conflict.

The few murderers still left in the compound had come out willingly with the knowledge that the scam was most definitely over, and also likely because they were afraid that you would attempt to kill them again, which,  _ yeah, _ you had vaguely been considering. Serif and Rus, seeming rather overwhelmed by the whole mess and not technically supposed to be involved in the first place, left rather quickly to go back to their cabin, though Serif had given you an unreadable look as he went.

You knew you were going to have to explain things. To Sans, at least - he deserved that much from you.

But you didn't know  _ how. _ You didn't even know where to start.

Did you start with your birth? Which one? Your current state had nothing to do with your early life as a child, and your 'second coming' had been depressing as all hell.

Besides... Captain would need to be informed of anything you decided to spill. While he never stopped any of you from revealing your identities if you wanted to, he had to be kept up to date on who knew what, and you understood that.

You just didn't  _ want _ to. You didn't want to talk to Captain. Quite honestly, you didn't want to talk to Sans either.

How many times had you done this? How often had you dragged yourself over the razor wire of your past, stumbling over explanations of PTSD and holes in your memory and the all-consuming fear that had shaped you so much? How could you possibly tell Sans, someone you respected and cared about  _ so much, _ that the only reason you had met them in the first place was because you had run away from your support network and had only been walking around the city waiting for some hunter to finally get lucky?

Nothing good came from something like this. You were always left feeling hollowed-out and raw, a mental tiredness hanging over you that was worse than the hunger had ever been. And it never helped.

It never helped anything. So why try?  _ Why try at all? _

You were forcibly snapped out of your spiraling thoughts when Sans threw a blanket over your shoulders, causing you to blink at him in confusion.

"You're in shock," he informed you casually, keeping his tone level so as to not disturb the processing taking place around them. Somehow, without you noticing, Edge had appeared, and a bunch of other officers that you recognized from Sans' station were there as well. They were busy loading up the offenders, speaking with Edge and Blue seriously as they gestured towards the gray compound.

Huh. Guess their coworkers had decided that backup was needed after all.

A small smile wormed its way onto your face at the sight, but when you turned back to Sans he looked very unimpressed.

"I'm not in shock, just thinking," you tried, attempting to shrug off the shock blanket and hand it back to him, but he just gave you a Look™.

"Don't argue with me, or I'll arrest you," he said sternly, leaving no room for argument.

You pouted, but resettled the blanket around your shoulders. It was nice, and it helped with the shaking that you belatedly realized you were doing. Okay, so maybe he was right, but you weren't going to admit it.

It had been... a long time since you'd gone so feral. Not since the very  _ first _ time, anyway.

At the thought, your fists unconsciously clenched, ragged nails digging into your palms.

What would the Captain say? You'd gone out here with the intent to  _ help, _ to stop Lt. Mason from doing something that he couldn't take back, and instead you had nearly -

"Stop it," a voice said, sounding vaguely exasperated at this point, and your hands were gripped tightly, preventing you from hurting yourself anymore.

For a long moment, your mind was still numb, still not processing, but then Sans' face swam back into view, and you relaxed into his grip. Everything was okay. You were going to be okay.

Sans was here, so you would be okay. It would be even better if Papyrus was here, but still.

"Everything is being handled," he said, and there was a look in his eyelights that you would almost describe as worried. "You and I should head back home. You need rest."

"Is that legal?" You joked, though you stood up anyway. Really, didn't Sans have... police officer things he should be doing? You felt like there was more to it than that, but your thoughts were still scattered, and you were having a strangely difficult time gathering them back together.

Sans gave you a flat look, and you laughed despite yourself. His expression cleared a bit at the sound, but he still tutted and dragged you along with him.

"I'll be the judge of that," he said primly. "Now, hurry along. I'm sure my bike is feeling neglected, and Papyrus is likely to have a lot of questions when we get back, especially seeing the state you're in."

"Mhm." You just nodded along to whatever he was saying, feeling yourself get floaty and strange again. Were you disassociating? Ah.  _ That _ hadn't happened in a while.

Somewhere, in the back of your mind, you thought you should be saying goodbye. You really liked Blue, and Edge apparently had the same taste in teen detective novels as you, so you wanted to say goodbye. And what about the Horror brothers? You hadn't even gotten to test any of their food!

But faces and scenery passed you by without being registered, voices around you all sounding like background chatter in a busy cafe, easy to ignore.

Sans had his gloved hand wrapped firmly around your wrist, and you used that to ground yourself to reality, even as the rest of you felt like it was about to crumble away into nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *the front door swings open to reveal reader half-passed out and covered in blood, with sans looking like he's aged a hundred years*  
> papyrus: okay guys what the fuck
> 
> yes, the reveal is next chapter. i promise. for real this time. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	29. we're free at last

Papyrus tapped his phalanges rapidly on the table's surface, his anxiety rising like a flood. Only a few minutes ago, he'd gotten a text from his brother saying that they were on their way back. Shouldn't that be a good thing?

But, he couldn't help but feel worried. It had only been a day and a half since they'd left - shouldn't an investigation like this take longer? And maybe he was being paranoid, but Sans had seemed rather terse in the message. It was difficult to feel emotion through a text, but he thought that he knew his older brother pretty well. Sans had a tendency to use short, clipped sentences when he was upset, and that message had been about as clipped as it got.

_ *Coming home. _

That's it. That's all he'd said. So, Papyrus thought he could be excused for the anxiety, just this once.

He just hoped that nothing had happened to you. Papyrus had been against this to begin with, after all, but he had relented because he truly believed that him and his brother's counterparts wouldn't try anything. He hated to think that he might be wrong.

Hearing the rumble of a motorcycle coming down the street, he jumped up, pacing agitatedly in front of the door. That was them, right? Fuck, he  _ hoped _ so. If this took any longer, he was sure that he would explode.

But the door opened not a minute too soon, revealing just the monsters he was waiting for.

"hey, is everything okay - " he managed to get out, but Sans quickly bustled past him, dragging their roommate along.

You didn't say anything in protest, staring blankly ahead. Actually... were you wearing one of his old sweatshirts?

_ What on earth happened? _

"Go on, take a shower and get changed," Sans ordered, though he was being remarkably gentle about it. "We'll be waiting when you get out."

You only nodded listlessly, not even glancing in Papyrus' direction before you stumbled down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Papyrus turned to his brother and made a helpless gesture, pointing in the direction their roommate had gone.

"what the hell was that."

Sans grimaced, and let out a deep sigh. For the first time, Papyrus noticed the stressed expression on his brother's face, and felt a pang of guilt. 

"Sit down," he said exhaustedly, still refraining from uppercase speech - though Papyrus wasn't sure if it was out of courtesy towards you, or because he just couldn't work up the energy. "I'll tell you what I know."

So, Papyrus sat, listening to the tale attentively. He felt himself relax at the knowledge that the Horror brothers truly hadn't been responsible, but he tensed up all over again with Sans' recount of the wrecked forest he'd tracked you through, and the state you had been in when he arrived. That.. wasn't good.

Honestly, they were lucky that the only ones who'd seen you like that were Sans, and the criminals themselves. Their opinion wouldn't be taken into account on this matter, and Sans knew how to keep his mouth shut. 

Though you had rarely said anything about your species, you'd made it clear that even other species of Surfacers weren't fond of your kind. He didn't want to think about what might happen if the news of you going on some kind of rampage was reported.

Sans seemed to share that thought, because he gave Papyrus a grim expression. "I trust that you're aware that nothing we are going to speak about today can get out."

"of course," Papyrus frowned, feeling a bit indignant that Sans felt he had to remind him. 

But at that, Sans closed his eyes for a brief moment, a small smile on his face.

"You're still the same as ever," he said amusedly, opening his eyes once more. Papyrus would have protested, but Sans actually looked quietly grateful for the fact, so he decided to leave it be.

It was at that moment that you entered the room, seeming infinitely more tired, but in control of your faculties once more.

You smiled at him wryly as you approached, a towel draped over your shoulders.

"Hey, Paps," you said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze as you plopped down next to him on the couch. "Sorry for the cold reception earlier, I was a bit out of it."

"understandable," Papyrus nodded, resisting the urge to touch your face, grab your hand,  _ anything _ to remind himself that you were here and alive. You must have sensed it, somehow, because you reached out to intertwine your right hand with his, your smile becoming just the slightest bit more genuine.

"I guess you told him what happened?" You said, directing the question towards Sans.

Sans nodded, and you let out a sigh.

"Right."

You were silent for a long moment, opening and closing your mouth repeatedly as if you didn't even know where to start with this.

"we can leave this for another day, if you need more time to prepare," Papyrus murmured lowly, even as his practical side wept at the idea of missing a scoop like this.

But you just laughed, shaking your head. "No, I've been stalling long enough. After what just happened, you guys deserve to know at least this much."

"If you're ready," Sans interjected, looking a little concerned as well.

You gifted him a smile, and even though Papyrus could see the lines of stress this was giving you, you didn't take it back.

"It's fine." You took a deep breath, centering yourself. "Okay. So, I was born in the early twentieth century - "

That was enough to make Papyrus sputter, even knowing that plenty of monsters had long lifespans, his own sub-species included.

"You're over a hundred years old?" Sans interjected, sounding intrigued.

You threw your head back, laughing freely. "Yes, I am! What, does my young, supple skin distract you?"

Teasingly, you pulled at the skin on your cheek with your free hand, demonstrating its 'suppleness'.

Sans colored faintly, coughing into his hand as Papyrus sniggered. "M-My apologies, please continue."

You seemed cheered by that small exchange, though, and you continued on more enthusiastically than before.

"I was born human, and poor. Though the latter doesn't have too much to do with this story, I suppose," You smiled, a touch bitterly, but Papyrus didn't want to interrupt you again, so he just squeezed your hand encouragingly, even as his mind raced. Born human? That... could mean something  _ big. _ "I, ah, fought in the War. The big one, World War II. While I was on deployment, me and my whole squad, including our Captain, were caught up in a raid and died."

Papyrus froze, and he could tell that his brother had also become unnaturally still. This couldn't lead to anything good.

"I don't remember it," you continued, that small, sad smile still on your face. "Which, y'know, is probably for the best. But we were resurrected by a necromancer shortly afterwards. She..." Here, you paused, something conflicted rising to the surface. "She meant well. She was desperate - we all were. But a war zone is hardly the place to raise an army, ironically enough. When we came back, we knew nothing. We had no thoughts, no emotions. We could only do what she told us to do. Run of the mill zombies, basically. But then, she was killed."

You fell silent for a moment, and Papyrus could tell that despite everything, you mourned that woman.

Then, you shook your head, getting back on track. "We didn't crumble away, though. She had resurrected us so quickly that our souls were still basically intact, and still within our grasp. So, without her guidance, we became... feral. At first, we still felt nothing, but slowly, things began to come back to us. The first was hunger. We were - we were starving,  _ constantly. _ There was never any escape, no matter what we did."

You glanced at them, biting your lip, but apparently decided to just go ahead anyway, even as something in Papyrus' chest sank at where this was going.

"Human flesh could take the pain away, for a little bit," you revealed causally, though the way your eyes stayed fixed on the ground really said it all. "But in the end, it only made it worse. The hunger would return twofold. That was our curse - the curse of the Wendigo."

"Wendigo..." Sans blinked, apparently recognizing the term. Papyrus wracked his skull, but couldn't come up with anything. "But I thought Wendigos were classed as spirits?"

You grimaced, but it didn't seem to be out of anger, at least.

"We're more Undead, than anything - like vampires. But it's true that we're spirits as well. It's because of how we were resurrected; souls in war zones and other dire straits are much more likely to come back as restless spirits. That's what we are, basically - spirits with physical forms, as contradictory as that sounds."

"oh," Papyrus blinked, the idea clicking into place in his mind. "like napstaton."

You looked startled for a moment, staring at him in bewilderment, before your cheer from before returned, and you squeezed his hand, practically beaming at him. 

"That's a great comparison!" You praised, making Papyrus preen as his brother rolled his eyes. "I would point you more towards a haunted doll, though. Napstaton's body is just their vessel, right? This is my real body. Just... dead. Almost."

Sans let out a huff, but there was a tiny smile on his face. "Alright, I think I understand. It was your desire for human flesh that caused the incident earlier today, yes?"

You winced, but nodded. You looked back at the ground, clearly waiting for them to say something cruel, but Papyrus didn't give you the chance to worry.

He pulled you into an embrace, resting his chin on top of your head as he thought of how long you'd been carrying this burden. He thought of a hunger that never rested, a wistfulness that you could not hide as you watched humans go about their days, living life without a care in the world.

He thought of  _ 'I was born poor' _ and a blank expression that he recognized intimately and the way your hands would shake if someone suddenly dropped a glass near you.

Your species was  _ hardly _ the thing that he was most concerned about.

"it's alright, love," he murmured.

"Yes. We can work with that," Sans said calmly.

You smiled, even as your eyes were wet with tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans: wait does this mean you're a war veteran  
> reader: hell yeah baby  
> sans: okay cool whatever  
> sans, internally: does mean you wore a uniform. does this mean you wore a cool uniform. does this mean you wore a -  
> papyrus: hey, good job on hitting my brother's biggest kink  
> reader: thanks??
> 
> there, i did it! are you happy now, you animals?? jk, you're all amazing. there's still more to reader's backstory, but this is the big thing you've all been waiting for, lol. and fucking nobody better say "i told you so", because i knew this before any of the story was even posted, so i already knew, my friends. if you do say anything to that effect, i will... do... something. i haven't figured that part out, yet, but at least it'll let me know who actually reads the notes, lol.
> 
> regardless, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	30. we're the happiest town in town!

When you woke up in the morning, you had to take a moment to just  _ breathe _ \- staring up at the ceiling and trying to center yourself, trying to relax into this new state of being that you held.

They knew the truth, now. Or at least, the most important part of it.

You let out a truly miserable sigh, snuggling back down into the blankets as you thought about all the things you would have to do today as a result. You'd have to call Captain and let him know the situation, find out if Lt. Mason was still lurking around anywhere (you internally winced at the memory of that huge fuck-up), you'd have to go down to the station with Sans so that they could get your statement...

It was enough to make a lesser monster cry. You really wanted nothing more than to just melt onto this couch and stay here for the next century or two, but unfortunately, life would never allow such an opportunity.

So, up you get.

Yawning as you stretched your shoulders back, you allowed yourself to grow on the exhale, limbs stretching out farther, and then you shrank yourself on the inhale, becoming a bit more of a manageable size.

Padding into the kitchen on bare feet, you blinked blearily as you considered the fridge. You didn't cook often - most of the time, you just didn't have the energy or patience. But... Maybe it would be nice to make something, try and apologize to the brothers for your embarrassing conduct yesterday.

(You still can't believe that you started  _ crying. _ Shit...)

Pancakes, you decided with a firm nod. They were relatively easy to do, seeming as Sans already had a box of mix in the cupboard, and if you started now they would be done by the time the bros woke up.

Your timing was perfect, thankfully - almost exactly as you were pulling the last pancake off the skillet, Papyrus stumbled out of his room and into the kitchen, Sans having already arrived a few minutes before.

"oh," he blinked, seeming a bit confused to see you on the other end of the stove. "thanks, love. i appreciate it."

You chuckled at his sleepy conduct, yawning halfway through his sentence, and gestured towards the food on the big plate in the middle of the table.

"Help yourself, my man."

Sans gave you a grateful nod as well, and then the three of you were chowing down, the kitchen mostly silent if not for the sound of your chewing.

As you were close to finishing up, Sans seemed to remember something, clearing his throat as he reached into his pocket.

"I MUST APOLOGIZE TO YOU," he said, turning in your direction. His expression was only the tiniest bit grudging, so you knew he was being serious. "EARLIER, WHEN WE WERE STILL AT THE HORRORTALE BROTHERS CABIN, IT SEEMS THAT I ACCIDENTALLY TOOK YOUR PHONE AND MINE. HERE, I HAVE TO RETURN IT TO YOU. I BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF MESSAGES."

You swallowed the food you were chewing, making a careless gesture with your free hand. "Don't worry about it, dude. Thanks for getting it back to me."

It happened fairly often, considering the two of you had somehow chosen the  _ exact _ same phone case. Now, you don't know why Sans wanted to have a bright purple case, but you supposed that it wasn't really your problem.

You grabbed the phone when he offered it over the table, pleasantly surprised to see that it still had a fair amount of battery power left. Casually, you unlocked it, checking to see what notifications you had, only to freeze when you saw that one of them was from Captain.

You put down your fork, frowning at your phone.

"I'm sorry guys," you said distractedly, "I'll be right back, this is important."

You hustled out of the kitchen, deciding to step out the front door for some privacy. As you did so, you realized you also had a few messages from Kenan. Geez, the one time you didn't have your phone on you...

You clicked on Captain's contact first, knowing that he had to take priority. And when you read his message...

You didn't know what to feel. Relief, for sure, but embarrassment also played a large part in it. If only you'd seen this message about Lt. Mason sooner, you wouldn't have been so eager to jump right into the cannibals nest!

But still, you let out a deep breath, and it seemed like a huge weight had been taken off of you. So, Mason wasn't a concern anymore. You would have to contact the Captain later for the full details, but that was certainly worthy of celebration. 

Feeling a bit more cheerful now, you opened up Kenan's messages, and the contents of those made your day brighten significantly!

Bursting back into the house, you ran over to the kitchen, beaming ear to ear.

"Guys!" You exclaimed, for once able to ignore the smell of delicious food in favor of focusing your attention on the brothers. "Kenan said that it's safe to go back to our apartment! Isn't that awesome?!"

You were practically vibrating with excitement at this point. Sure, staying here had been great (especially since there was a better supply of food, let's be real), but you missed your friends, missed your apartment, and most importantly, you missed your  _ bed. _

The couch here had definitely become your very best friend, but your bed would always be your one true love. 

Sans' expression was frozen, oddly, and Papyrus just gave you a crooked little smile.

"that's great, love," he said, though there was something in his tone that you couldn't quite recognize. "when are you heading back there?"

"Mm..." You hummed as you put a finger to your chin, thinking about your schedule for the day. "Probably after I finish up with Sans, today."

That seemed to be the best option. You had to go to the police station with him, and that would likely take up a nice chunk of your day. You could just contact the Captain and do all of that later in the evening, after you were settled back into your apartment. You wanted to find out what Felix and Kenan had been up to, after all!

Sans' expression became even more plastic at those words, though he nodded stiffly, and Papyrus only sighed lightly, muttering something under his breath.

Huh. Weird.

Well, whatever! Today was going to be a good day. A good start.

You were sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: man, i am so pumped to finally get back home!!  
> sans: yeah. guess our scheme didn't work too well after all  
> reader: wait what  
> papyrus: nothing
> 
> hey, here's the end of the first arc! next arc will be starting soon, and it will involve a lot more world building (the final pair of skelebros will be introduced), and reader will get up to more shenanigans, so i hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	31. as proud as we can be,

"You're kidding me," Kenan said, nursing a beer and looking more exasperated than you'd ever seen her before.

"No, seriously!" You exclaimed, taking a swig of your soda. Alcohol did nothing for you, and was way too expensive besides. So you were sitting next to her on the couch, some crappy movie playing on the tv, and drowning out your sorrows with a nice, fizzy drink. "It was really weird."

She snorted, shaking her head at you - which was  _ also _ weird, honestly, why was she looking at you like  _ you _ were the idiot?

"It's because they  _ like _ you, dumbass," she said dryly. "They were upset about you leaving."

You blinked, something warm settling in your chest. "What? But they didn't say - "

"Of course they didn't," Kenan interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Most people can pick up on context clues, buddy."

You pouted, slouching in your seat. "Too confusing..."

"I know, I know." She still sounded vaguely mocking, but she was patting your head and had a smile on her face, so you would forgive it this once. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow? It's almost my bedtime, y'know."

You stuck your tongue out at her, but then took a moment to seriously consider it. You weren't going back to work for a few more days, and you got the info you needed from the police station...

"I'm gonna head to the Alley," you decided, nodding to yourself firmly. "I was able to find out the names of most of the Surfacers killed by those guys. At least, the ones that happened in the last month or so, during their final hurrah. I recognized a couple of them, so I figured..."

"You would have a better chance of finding any relatives, or contacts," Kenan nodded in understanding. Her expression saddened for a moment, and you knew she was thinking about her mother again, about the horrible sense of finality that had come from screaming of her death after months of the woman being missing. 

Unsure how to really comfort her, you patted her gently on the shoulder.

"I'll make sure they know," you promised, and it was a vow to both her and yourself. You still remembered the days when the soldiers around you were dying left and right, and though you never envied the duty of writing home to tell their families, you knew that it was a necessary deed.

"That's all someone can really ask for," she said wryly, and then sighed before placing her beer down on the coffee table. "Now, no offense, but that really killed the mood. I'm gonna head to bed."

You let out a little laugh, and stood as well. "Nah, I get you. I'm gonna head off as well. Sleep tight!"

"Don't let the bedbugs bite," she added, a bit of that teasing back in her voice.

You swatted at her as you walked past, laughing as she dodged. Even if the topic was somber, even if the coming day would undoubtedly be rough, you were  _ so _ glad to be home.

Felix, having gone to bed a few hours ago, was snoring loud enough for you to hear on the other side of the door, but you just huffed out a laugh. You'd even missed that, to be honest.

Though you really had enjoyed staying at the skeleton brothers' place, there was truly no place like home.

...

"I'm heading out!" you called out, waving goodbye to Felix, who was playing some video game on the couch.

Kenan yelled her goodbye from the kitchen, and Felix waved over his shoulder as you shut the door. 

Apparently, Snipe's investigation had turned up nothing about where the body had come from, so he'd decided to just let you guys come back, and said that they would be 'keeping an eye on the place', which was perhaps a more threatening statement than he had intended, but you weren't too concerned.

Even if the mobster  _ was _ watching you, he wouldn't be able to follow you to this place.

The Alley was a secret community,  _ still _ secret even after the existence of monsters was revealed to the general public. Though you hoped it would never come to that, it was always better to have a safe place to run to if worse came to worst.

And there was no place safer than the Ebott Alley, you could say that with certainty. In fact, when you had first come to this city, you had been astonished by how developed the Alley was.

Most Alleys were hideaways, places for monsters with something to hide, and all the implicit danger that came with that. But the Ebott Alley had actual  _ homes, _ it had businesses! It was pretty magnificent, truth be told.

You stuck your hand in your jacket pocket, fist curling around the note hidden there. It contained all the info you needed - names and species, more specifically. Eight Surfacers had been killed in this final rampage, all within the range of a month. Honestly, you were astonished that you hadn't heard about it sooner, but after becoming friends with the skeleton brothers, you had visited the Alley far less than you used to. Well, that was the price you pay.

Hurrying your strides, you managed to make it to Main Street in record time, only to turn the corner by the library and head down the narrow alleyway in-between. For a moment, you felt a very slight pressure, like a gust of wind pushing back against you, and then you made your way through.

The Alley opened up before you, narrow streets snaking around structures of all types. You could see the bathhouse in the distance, towering up into the sky, nearly tall enough to hit the clouds. As you glanced up, a harpy entered your field of vision, swooping down onto the roof of a nearby bakery.

Monsters were everywhere. It was still early morning, but plenty of them were already up and about. There was a large cyclops meandering their way to work, briefcase in hand; a swan-maiden wearing her feathers as a coat, cursing loudly as she tried to untangle her Cerberus' leash from where it had gotten tangled around the dog's three heads; a pack of wolves chasing each other playfully as they headed for a large field.

You couldn't stop the smile from spreading across your face if you tried. This place, perhaps more than anywhere else, felt like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: ah, finally back where i belong  
> sans: excuse me??  
> papyrus: okay, that was a little hurtful  
> reader: ???
> 
> **early update: happy new year!**
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	32. don't risk my curse

Ebott’s Alley is, as always, bustling and full of life, no matter what the time of day was.

You made your way through the crowd, noting wryly that anyone with a good enough nose was giving you a wide berth. You’d tried to clean yourself up a bit, but a single shower wouldn’t be enough to erase the scent of human blood on you.

Hopefully, the first person that you were meeting today wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. You already knew some of the others, and most of them wouldn’t care, but Octavius could raise a big fuss if he was in the mood for it - and he almost always was, the bastard.

Whatever. You’d find out soon enough.

Slipping past a Naga woman (who was yelling at someone through her phone, apparently at her wit’s end), you ended up in front of Octavius’ building; a tall, intimidating thing that would have looked more natural as the headquarters of a supervillain in a bad eighties movie.

But instead, it was where your friend (though that was perhaps a strong word for your relationship) made his living, and the best supernatural law practice in the country. It had seemed a bit odd to you, at first, that something like that would even exist, but when taking into account all of the crazy things that had happened to you, even within the last month, it suddenly seemed quite necessary indeed.

You knew that Octavius was probably busy, as he had been ever since monsters had gone public, but he always made time for you.

You let yourself in through the front door, waving to the receptionist (who simply rolled their eyes before gesturing with three hands for you to go ahead), and made your way to the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor.

You leaned against the glass as the elevator groaned its way up, trying to block out the atrocious elevator music. You just _knew_ that Octavius had chosen this genre because he knew you hated it. It was the only possible explanation you could accept.

When you were finally able to escape (after what felt like fifty years), you hustled down the hallway, heading straight for the boss’ office. You reached the door in record time, taking a moment to scoff at the cheery welcome mat that he had placed at the door.

The bastard actually thought he was funny, for some unfathomable reason.

Regardless, you knocked on the oaken door, trying not to make your discomfort at being in such a fancy place too obvious. At any rate, you would be sure not to breathe on anything to heavily, just in case.

“Who is it?” Came the reply, sounding distracted and vaguely irritated.

“Candygram,” you said flatly, not even bothering to inject any enthusiasm into your tone.

“Oh! Come in,” Octavius called out, much more uplifted than before.

You turned the knob, vaguely amused at the fact that it was plastic. Understandable, considering the type of clients he had, but it still jarred the image of impeccable wealth that he was trying to set up.

“My, it has been a long time, hasn’t it?” Octavius said, standing up from behind his desk with a grand gesture.

You couldn’t help the amused huff that escaped your lips, and you allowed him to give you a friendly (and almost backbreaking) hug.

“Octavius,” you nodded, a reluctant smile growing. Even if you were here on a somber business, he had a way of lightening the mood. “I guess it has been a few years at this point, huh? Good to see you.”

“And you, my old friend!” He said grandly, going back behind his desk to sit with a flourish. His golden eyes glinted with amusement, and he gestured for you to take a seat across from him.

You did so, slouching like a proper delinquent. Your eyes roved over Octavious, taking in the changes that had occurred. His dark hair was beginning to get streaks of gray, dignified, but still obvious. Wrinkles were starting to decorate his face, and his hands had become weathered from the years that had passed. It was... startling, somehow.

He had aged slowly, of course, but he had aged. After the death of his mate, you had seen the way he’d begun to wither. Even his scars, the burns and slashes that had once stood out so starkly against his skin, were now looking washed out, blending in against his brown skin tone.

You almost missed the reminder.

But something about him seemed at ease, too. So, perhaps all the change wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

When you finally looked back up at him, he was smiling fondly at you.

“Yes, time makes a fool of us all,” he said lightly, obviously having seen your inspection, and likely the twisted mess of emotions that had resulted from it. “Though, if I may, you look just the same as the day we met!”

You snorted, relaxing for the first time since you’d stepped into the building. “I’m surprised you even remember. I don’t think I’d ever seen someone as drunk as you, that time. Especially since you were quite convinced that I was a government agent sent to kill you.”

Now, that had been a fun weekend.

Octavius waved his hand in a careless gesture, but the benefit of knowing someone for over fifty years meant that you could see the slight embarrassment in his expression.

“We all make mistakes as teenagers, you know. Now,” And here, he became serious, lips thinning into a line as he gazed at you with sharp, intuitive eyes. “I believe you’re here for something important. Regarding the recent killings, I presume.”

The happy mood you had managed to cultivate was dashed at the reminder, and you grunted in reply, pulling the list out of your pocket.

“I know some of them,” you said, handing it over to him when he held out his perfectly-manicured hand. “But you know everyone. And I... I feel like I have to do something. _Say_ something to them, at the very least.”

Octavius glanced over the list with pursed lips, and then gave you a cautious glance.

“You know, some of them won’t be happy to see you. Or to hear this news. They may react poorly.”

You just shrugged. You’d already known that, after all.

“Good thing I’m not easy to kill, then.”

Maybe this situation wasn’t your responsibility, but you didn’t think you’d be able to forgive yourself if you just went back to your apartment and pretended nothing ever happened. These people had lost their _siblingparentloverfriend_ , and this was the least you could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: huh, sure is strange to have a reminder that not everyone i know is immortal  
> reader: and may actually grow old some day  
> reader: and possibly die  
> reader: ... well, time to go ahead and repress that
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	33. it could be worse

First, was the Incubus. He would have _looked_ human, if not for the angry flash of red eyes, but he didn’t attack you. He even went to the courtesy of allowing you to explain what had happened to his sister (and her killers), before he slammed the door of the strip club in your face.

That was alright - you understood. Besides, you had done your part. He hardly wanted you to stick around and pretend to understand the depth of his pain.

One down, seven to go.

The gorgon chased you out of her apartment building with an unholy shriek, the rage and pain she felt at her daughter’s death nearly palatable enough to hurt you physically - but again, you didn’t blame her. How could you? How could you _possibly_ be angry, after what she had lost?

The ghoul was someone you actually knew personally - flesh-eaters tended to stick together whenever possible, even though Wendigos were usually turned away due to their unpredictability. But this ghoul, you _knew_ him. You sat him down, heart so heavy in your chest, and told him what had happened to his husband. He had been silent, unmoving, and when it was over, you left him to grieve. He still didn’t say anything as you left, but the unmeasurable sorrow in his eyes was enough of an answer.

Five more to go. It was draining, made you ache somewhere deep inside, somewhere you thought dead and buried, but you kept going regardless. You _had_ to do this. No one else could, or would.

(They were just _monsters_ , after all. Who cares?)

The werewolf pack, when you found them, might have been the hardest. Their howls had practically pierced your eardrums, the vocalizations of their grief too strong to suppress. She had been the youngest of their pack, not even at the age of experiencing her first transformation. Now, she never would.

You knew the next one, too. A demon, mischievous and proud. There was none of that pride in her now - she wept on your shoulder, her tears burning your skin, as you murmured the fate of a twin sister that had never come home.

The harpy tried to attack you, tried to _kill_ you, and you were barely able to escape the long, hooked claws that had lunged at your face. You stood outside her apartment door, listening silently as she tore apart her furniture, screams of rage ripping free from her lungs. She had been in love with them, with her roommate that had disappeared one day and only showed up as a corpse. She had been convinced that it was a mistake, a trick, _anything_ other than the truth. You gave her the evidence, and she lashed out in the only way she knew. She had never gotten to tell them the depth of her feelings.

For the next one, you visited the hostel. Ebott’s hostel was one of the best, the place any parent would want their child to go, if the worst should happen to them. That didn’t make it any easier to explain to a trio of confused and lost kitsune siblings, still little kits with the oldest only having two tails, why their father wouldn't be able to come get them. You weren’t sure, by the end of it, if the littlest really understood, but the oldest sibling looked at you with eyes much more weary than when you had first entered, and it somehow felt like a failure.

By the end of the day, you were at your last stop. It was dark out now, and it had been many, _many_ years since you last felt this drained. Not even telling the skeleton brothers about your past had hurt like this, had struck something soft and fragile inside of you like today had.

It was awful, and heartbreaking, and _necessary_. You kept repeating that, not about to allow yourself to stop. Not yet.

The last was... different.

He was an older man, barely able to see. When you entered the hospital where he was staying (and only an Alley like Ebott’s would actually have a hospital in it), the nurses told you that he had trouble remembering things, these days. They warned you that he might not even know why you were there. But still, you couldn’t give up.

His horns curled up and over his head, his huge, bull head turning to look at you when you entered the room. As calmly, but as firmly as you could, you explained what had happened to his only remaining son. He... stared at you, for a long moment, and you were afraid that he hadn’t understood. You were about to get up and leave, knowing that it wouldn’t be any good to exacerbate the situation, when he spoke.

He asked you to stay, to listen to him for a while. You did. So he told you stories, told you of the Minotaur clan and his family’s history, all the things they had done and the great legends they had made. He told you of his childhood, of his children’s childhood, about what he wished for them in the future.

He only called you by his son’s name once, but you didn’t correct him. You just listened.

When he was out of stories to tell and the tears started to fall, you made your way out of the hospital, simultaneously feeling both lighter and heavier than you had before. You sat on the hospital steps, your head in your hands.

This didn’t feel like a victory.

“hey there, hon,” a low, smooth voice spoke to you. “you look like you could use a pick-me-up.”

You glanced up to see a skeleton monster standing next to you, offering you a drag on a lit cigarette. You smiled, briefly, and shook your head.

“No thanks,” you managed to get out, shoving past the lump in your throat. “I don’t smoke.”

He didn’t seem to take offense, giving you a gentle smile.

“i saw what you were doing today,” he said, taking a drag and letting out a little ringlet of smoke. “i was curious, especially after riley slammed the door in your face. he isn’t the type to do something like that, y’see.”

Ah. This skeleton must have worked at the strip club you visited first. Not impossible, but it was still a bit rare to see an Undergrounder working in an Alley.

To his subtle query, you could only shrug.

“Someone had to do it.”

His expression was startlingly understanding. “yeah. i know. the name’s sans. sans the skeleton.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: if someone has to put themselves through horrible pain and suffering, it might as well be me, amiright??  
> reader: ha...ha...
> 
> early update! it’s my birthday! **so please check out[this post](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com/post/181825763431/milestone-special-birthday-time)!!**
> 
> and hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	34. embrace your family tree!

You smiled at him, even though you were sure the expression was weakened by your exhaustion.

“Nice to me you, Sans,” you said. “I actually know another Sans too, Razz? He’s a police officer.”

He blinked, looking rather surprised for a moment, before he let out a little laugh, sliding down to sit next to you on the step.

“well then, i suppose he gets first rights on the name, huh?” he said teasingly. Before you could deny him, or try to say anything, he reached out to gently grip your chin. “you can call me whimsy, doll.” Then, he smirked and moved closer to you, making an overly-flirtatious expression. “or anything _else_ you’d like.”

He actually managed to move his brow ridge in a way that made it look like he was wiggling his eyebrows, the whole action seeming so much like something out of a dime store romance novel that you couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Whimsy actually had to pull his hand back when you nearly bent over in your hilarity.

You paused in your laughter, suddenly worrying that he might have found it offensive, only to look over and see him gazing at you with a satisfied expression.

“yeah, it’s like i thought,” he murmured, his smile flirty but undeniably kind. “happiness suits you, gorgeous.”

To your great surprise, you actually found yourself blushing, face heating up in a way that hadn’t happened for years. You scratched the back of your head, the last bit of laughter leaving you, but the warmth it gave you remaining.

“I... yeah,” you said lamely, unsure of how to reply to such a genuine statement. “Thanks. It’s, uh, been a long day.”

“mm, i have no doubt,” Whimsy said, concern overtaking his expression. “would you mind explaining to me what happened?”

You remembered suddenly that he had saw at least some of what you’d been doing today, and had definitely seen his coworker slam the door in your face. He’d also said that the incubus - Riley - didn’t usually act like that...

You supposed that a quick explanation wouldn’t be too difficult.

“You know about the disappearances that have been happening recently?”

Whimsy nodded, face settling into something serious. He took another drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke drift away on the wind.

“yeah. we heard about the bodies that got found, too. my brother, amor, gets along pretty well with edge, so he warned us when they first started showing up. we may not be in danger of any cannibalism, but we can still die.”

You frowned, the thought not sitting well with you. No Undergrounders had been killed in this tragedy, but likely only because none of them were willing to go close enough to Mt. Ebott to get caught up in it. You couldn’t help but be grateful for that, as awful as that sounded.

“Your coworker...” You began, before abruptly switching paths, not wanting to invade Riley’s privacy any more than you already had. “Well, the culprits were found, recently. I was involved in the process, with Edge too, actually. But no one at the station really knew how to get in contact with the Surfacers who were affected, so I volunteered.”

Volunteered, just decided to do it on your own... Same thing.

“ah,” he said simply, sadness passing over him for a long moment. “his sister.”

“...Yeah.”

The two of you sat in silence, then, the weight of the day finally catching up with you. You leaned forward, resting your head against your hand as you looked out onto the street.

There were no cars in the Alley, no big transportation like that. As a result, the street was full of people walking home from work, going to join their families for dinner, ready to relax after another normal day.

Distantly, you envied them. You didn’t think that your life had ever been normal, not since the day you died in agony, choking on your own blood. Maybe even before then, when you couldn’t be what your family wanted, what they needed, so you ran away to join the army, unknowing that this would eventually lead you to never seeing them again.

But... you weren’t unhappy with your life. You treasured the bonds you had made, the places you’d seen. If you hadn’t died and been brought back the way you were, you would have never seen any of this. Certainly, it was unlikely that you would have lived to meet Kenan or Octavius, let alone Sans and Papyrus.

Perhaps the path you took to get here wasn’t one that you were necessarily proud of, but you were grateful for where it lead you. There was no doubt in that.

“thanks.”

You blinked, looking over at Whimsy, who was staring at you again with that soft expression that made your cheeks heat up. It was so _strange_ to have someone who looked like Sans, yet gazed at you that way. The two of them didn’t look _exactly_ alike, especially since Whimsy appeared to be quite a few inches taller, but it was just close enough to confuse your brain.

“U-um, what?” You stuttered, trying not to get distracted by the way his purple eyelights seemed to sparkle.

“thanks for doing that for riley,” he clarified, and his amusement was clear on his face, before it sobered. “he’ll never say it, but it was agony for him, waiting to find out what happened. when we first heard that her body had been found... it was devastating. he’s basically the manager, but we’re all friends too, y’know? and cecilia was a good girl - her soul was the brightest shade of green i’d ever seen. she didn’t deserve that.”

_She tried to like, seduce her way out of it or whatever, but my brother killed her before she could do anything._

Your fingers curled into long claws before you could stop yourself, scratching into the concrete step you were sitting on.

“No. She didn’t deserve any of it.”

(You didn’t hate humans. You _couldn’t_. You had been human once, you knew how difficult it was to exist and feel so, _so_ small. But...)

Whimsy reached out, placing his hand on your shoulder.

“so, thank you,” he said, his words soft but his expression firm. “thank you for telling him what happened. for telling all of them. you did a wonderful job, and more than we could have ever asked for. _thank you._ ”

He lifted his hand, gently wiping at the tear slowly making its way down your face. It was only then that you noticed you were crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader, bewildered: what?? is this??  
> whimsy: emotion, i think.  
> reader: is there some kind of return policy, or,,,
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	35. join the family business,

Furiously, you scrubbed at your eyes, trying to make the tears stop. You could not embarrass yourself like this, it just wasn't allowed. 

Whimsy caught your hand, and he didn't seem to mind that your fingers had curled themselves into a wicked pair of claws.

"now, now, none of that, lovely," he soothed. "you're doing just fine."

You found yourself settling down easily, even though you were probably more embarrassed at that then you were at the crying. Whimsy was just... calming. In a way that you really hadn't expected, from what you had experienced with his counterparts. Say what you will about Sans, Serif, Blue, Snipe and the others, but they all had a strange level of energy to them that you couldn't help but get caught up in.

Whimsy held none of that - you could tell that he was patient in a way that the others were not.

Finally, when the tears had stopped, and your sense of humiliation had died down enough, you let out a deep breath, gently pulling your hands from his grip.

"Legally, anyone who forces me to feel emotion has to be executed," you said, and Whimsy only laughed, looking entirely too entertained by your pouting.

"i suppose that means you'll be my executioner," he teased, voice going low and deep. "do you, by any chance, feel like granting my...  _ last request?" _

You valiantly shoved down the urge to blush and stutter like some kind of lovestruck fool. You couldn't help it, really - while it wasn't like no one had ever flirted with you, or that you hadn't had a disaster of a relationship or two, but rarely did someone treat you like this. Lighthearted and kind, but still undeniably flirting. After all, you weren't ignorant to the fact that dying and coming back had hardly done anything for your physical appearance.

But you ignored all that, standing up from the uncomfortable concrete step. "If your final request involves getting out of the cold and going somewhere more comfy, I'm all for it."

Whimsy gasped dramatically, holding a hand to his mouth like a delicate waif.

"are you asking me to  _ take you to my home, _ gorgeous? because i would be  _ honored." _

You knew that he was teasing you again, but you just shrugged and gave him a tiny smile.

"I mean... If you're willing to have me. I..." Here, you hesitated, still somehow unsure of your standing. "I don't want to intrude. But I don't wanna go home just yet."

But when you glanced over at him, nervous despite yourself, he was already beaming.

"that sounds perfect!" he assured you, making your shoulders slump in relief. "amor was worried about you after what happened this morning, but he had a longer shift than i did. i’ve been giving him updates, but i know he would be very happy to meet you and see that you're alright."

"Um, of course," you murmured, more than willing to just follow his lead on this. You wondered what this Papyrus was like... From what Whimsy had told you, only briefly, you thought that he would probably end up being a lot like Rus.

Well, if that was the case, you had no doubt that the two of you would get along splendidly.

…

Well, you hadn't been wrong on that front, though you might have underestimated the  _ depth _ of it.

The second you walked in the door, Whimsy right behind you, Amor had swept you into a crushing embrace, making you flounder as much as you wanted to lean into it.

"OH, MY FRIEND!" he wailed, grip tight enough that he would have probably squeezed you to death if you were any less sturdy. "HOW I'VE WORRIED! I HAVE BEEN SO AFRAID FOR YOU, BRAVING THE COLD DARKNESS OF THE WORLD ALL ON YOUR OWN! THE SUFFERING YOU MUST HAVE ENDURED TODAY... IT BREAKS MY METAPHORICAL HEART!"

Okay, it looked like Whimsy wasn't the only one around here that was a master at flowery language.

"Er... thanks?" you said, voice muffled from where it was pressed up against his shoulder. He was only barely taller than you, and not one of the tallest Papyrus' that you had ever seen, but his embrace (chokingly tight though it was), was warm and enveloped you fully.

You could tell that Amor was a good man. You may not have been able to read the SOUL and intention of others, but you hadn't lived over a century for nothing. You liked to think that you had a decent judge of character, even if that had never much been your strong suit.

From behind you, Whimsy was chuckling, doing nothing to save you from his brother's over-enthusiastic love. 

"alright, alright," he said, finally seeming to take pity on you. "let the poor monster go, bro."

When he did so, placing you back on your feet with a reluctant expression, Whimsy took the time to explain what you had been doing, and why you were here. You shuffled your feet awkwardly, glad that you didn't have to explain it again, but also still a bit self-conscious of how wrecked you must look.

To your alarm, Amor only seemed to get more teary with the explanation, and almost looked like he was going to leap upon you once again, making you inch closer to Whimsy in trepidation.

He must have noticed, the jerk, because he was hiding a tiny smile behind his hand as he suggested to his brother that it was probably about time to make dinner.

Amor, thankfully, perked up at that, running off into the kitchen with a vow to make the best meal you had ever tasted.

You and Whimsy followed at a more sedate pace, settling at the kitchen table and talking quietly amongst yourselves.

Your rousing discussion on the Alley's nightlife (surprisingly boring, unless you knew where to go), was interrupted when Amor turned towards you, a worried frown on his face.

"I'M AFRAID I WASN'T ABLE TO PICK UP YOUR SPECIES RIGHT OFF THE BAT, SO I'M UNSURE OF ANY DIETARY RESTRICTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE," Amor said apologetically, like this was really some great failing on his part.

"Ah, that's..." you began, fingertips tapping on the surface of the wood nervously. Then, quite suddenly, you decided to just go for it. "I'm a Wendigo. I'll eat just about anything, and a lot of it, so don't worry about anything like that."

Your (somehow still beating, even after all this time) heart was pounding, waiting to take in their reactions, but Amor only looked thrilled, declaring that he would cook up a grand feast. Whimsy, upon meeting your gaze, smiled gently.

"don't look so glum," Whimsy whispered, his tone of voice so kind that it nearly made you start crying again. He reached across the table to take your hand, squeezing gently. "this is your reward for all your hard work today, remember? you did good."

This time, you might have even believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> amor: brother...  
> whimsy: yep.  
> amor: so we -  
> whimsy: yep.  
> amor: perfect.  
> reader: ...why does it feel like some important life decision was just made without my knowledge??  
> whimsy: shhhh. don't worry about it
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	36. you must take the family name,

Dinner was wonderful. You were an absolute delight, just as Amor had known you would be.

After all, how could you not? Your soul was... _extraordinary_.

Now, Amor certainly didn’t make it a habit of peeking at other monster’s souls, knowing just how private that was, but he really couldn’t have helped it in this circumstance. When you had spoke to Riley, calm and understanding despite everything, your soul had nearly been shining out of your chest. Amor knew that was what had managed to initially grab his brother’s intrigue - Amor himself had been able to see a clear outline of your soul, even from all the way across the floor.

The two brothers had conferenced together for a minute, wondering if they should try to go after you once Riley had slammed the door in your face, but finally Whimsy had decided to skeeve off of work a bit early and see what you were up to. Riley hadn’t noticed - the guy hadn’t noticed much of anything for the rest of the day, though Amor could hardly fault him for it.

Riley and Cecilia had both been his friends; Amor mourned terribly for the young woman who had lost her life in such a senseless way.

That’s why he had carefully made sure that Riley wouldn’t notice Whimsy’s absence - he felt terribly guilty about it, but you had just managed to intruige the both of them _so much._

When Whimsy had called him around lunch time, telling him the suspicions of what you were doing, Amor had nearly cried.

A violent crime, with absolutely no purpose. How dare they? How dare those... those _humans_ take away someone’s future, their _hopes and dreams,_ for such a reason?

He simply couldn’t understand it. He didn’t want to.

But Amor did understand one thing - that, even if this day had been terrible, even if it had hurt you so clearly, he was incredibly grateful for the work you had done. And, to be quite honest, he had never felt so respectful of a person he had yet to formally meet.

A person like you _had_ to be great! Perhaps even nearly as great as himself!

And, of course, time had proven him right, as it always had. Though you were a bit quiet through dinner, clearly feeling rather awkward and horribly exhausted, your every smile was still genuine, and what words you did speak were nothing short of wonderful.

You were kind. He could see that, now. Kind, and patient, and so many other things. Even though your soul was not as open to him as it had been that morning, with you trying desperately to get Riley to listen, it was still there, a pleasant warmth.

Of course, Amor did his best not to stare, but it was rather hard. At one point, he had trailed off in the middle of a sentence, flushing in a pleased manner when one of his jokes actually managed to get your soul to shine brighter as you laughed.

Whimsy had elbowed him in the side, giving him a pointed look.

Amor coughed delicately into his hand, attempting to disguise his small... _indiscretion_.

“WELL, I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU ENJOYED!” Amor said briskly, clasping his hands together as you finally finished your last bite of food.

You really hadn’t been kidding when you’d said that you could eat a lot, but Whimsy had also pulled Amor aside at the beginning to whisper that you hadn’t eaten at all in the time he’d been watching you today, which likely meant that you would have been quite hungry, regardless of species.

“Uh, yeah,” you said, slouching just a bit. You looked rather embarrassed, but the smile you gave him was at ease. “I really do appreciate it. I know I ate a lot, I can pay you back for ingredients if you want - “

Amor let out an absolutely outraged gasp, waving his hands in denial before you even finished the sentence.

“CERTAINLY NOT,” he scolded, wagging his finger at you. “THIS WAS A REWARD, AND ALSO A GET-TO-KNOW-YOU DINNER. I WILL NOT HAVE YOU PAYING FOR A _SINGLE_ THING, YOU HEAR ME?”

Even Whimsy could only shrug, giving you a lazy grin.

“don’t bother,” he advised you with a low chuckle. “he’ll only get more insistent.”

The words were said with a wealth of fondness, which was the only reason Amor didn’t complain, but he did cross his arms over his chest, pouting.

You seemed surprised for a moment, and then heartbreakingly grateful, until the emotion was wiped from your expression, face returning to the calm, composed look that seemed to be your norm.

(...He kinda wanted to see what you would look like with that composure completely wiped away.)

“Still, this means a lot,” you smiled again, and your soul only shined brighter for it. This time, Amor was the one who had to snap his uncharacteristically wide-eyed brother out of a daze, who huffed and looked away.

“AND WE WERE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU,” Amor said, a bubbling sort of happiness rising up in him from the grateful look on your face. “I DO HOPE YOU KNOW THAT THERE’S NO WAY THIS CAN BE A ONETIME THING.”

Again, you seemed startled, as if no one had ever extended a hand to you this way before.

“I would like that, but, ah,” here, you hesitated, almost the same way you had before, when he’d talked to you about your diet. What was the issue...? “You, ah, know I’m a Wendigo, right?”

Amor could only blink.

“...YES? YOU MENTIONED SO EARLIER. I WOULD NOT FORGET SO QUICKLY!”

Whimsy nodded in agreement, head tilted to the side as he examined their guest. “...we don’t have a problem with it, babe.”

Your eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and Amor could see your rapidly squeezing your hands against the tablecloth, but you didn’t start crying again as he had half-way expected.

“Thanks,” you said instead, opening your eyes to look at them, your soul more clear than he had seen yet. “I’ll be sure to come by again, anytime you’ll have me.”

“OF COURSE. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MORE OF YOU, MY FRIEND!”

“can’t get rid of us that easy, gorgeous.”

(If it was up to them, well... Amor had to pace himself, keep himself in check. Even other monsters didn’t tend to move as fast as those from their timeline - _careful_ , he had to be _careful_.

Whimsy had already gotten ahead, that tricky brother of his. Luckily, they had always been very good at sharing.)

Amor saw you to the door with a wide grin, leaning down to give you one last hug before you left.

“Come back soon,” he murmured, purposefully lowering his voice, making it gentle and soft, a counterpart they had found worked perfectly alongside his brother’s low and smooth tone.

When you pulled away, your face was flushed, and you were blinking rapidly.

“I, uh, yeah,” you stuttered, and quickly went on your way.

From behind him, Amor could hear his brother chuckling again, both amusement and affection in equal measure.

Oh, this was going to be _fun_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: i feel like there is a certain subtext to our interactions that i’m not quite catching,,,  
> lust bros: don’t worry, we’re great pitchers
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	37. follow in our footsteps,

When you finally got back home after your long, long day, you pretty much passed out immediately, only barely managing to make it to your bed in time. You hadn't even bothered to change out of your clothes, merely tugging your boots off before collapsing face-first on the covers.

When you alarm woke you up the next morning, bright and early, you were about ready to murder somebody.

_Ugh_. Why had you agreed to go back to work so quickly? You would've been better off taking another day to rest...

And, clearly, your roommates agreed with you by the way they both made identical disgusted faces upon your entry to the kitchen.

"You look like hell," Kenan said bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest.

You scowled back, well aware of the bags under your eyes and the way your complexion was even worse than usual, but she only raised a perfectly manicured brow in response, entirely unimpressed.

"Uh, I have to agree," Felix added, squinting at you over his coffee cup. "Though I'd say you look more like something that got dragged to hell on its face and then proceeded to crawl back up through the dirt."

"Thank you for that lovely imagery, Felix," you said dryly.

You walked past the both of them and made your way to the cabinets, grabbing something to eat on the way to work. What you wouldn't give to be able to just sit down and eat a real breakfast for once.

But when you went to go get your coat and bag, Kenan stopped you, her face actually showing her concern this time.

"Look, I mean it," she said, biting her lip. "This... This whole situation has sucked so much. We just finally managed to get things back to normal, or as normal as they're ever gonna be. Don't go pushing yourself too much, okay?"

You blinked, a bit startled at the sincerity, since Kenan had never been one to show that much blatant sentimentality. The incident last time must have really rattled her.

But...

"I appreciate it," you said, and your words were gentle even as you moved around her to continue on your way. "And we are getting back to normal. That means I have to work. Don't worry, yesterday was about as far out of my comfort zone that I think I'll ever go, so this will be easy by comparison."

Felix didn't try to halt your progress, but he did eye you carefully.

"It's true that money is important, and routine is important. But you're important too, to both of us. And to others, of course. Taking some more time to readjust yourself can't hurt," he said.

You almost wanted to bristle at the hesitant tone of voice he was using. You weren't fragile. But he cared, they both cared so much. They were just trying to prove that to you, as much as you were hesitant to accept.

"I... yeah. I'll call out tomorrow."

You really didn't want to call out today - you had only just gotten back, and that seemed wrong, somehow. But you could take tomorrow off, you had enough sick days stored up to do that.

Your roommates didn't seem especially pleased, but they must have realized that was the best they were going to get, because they didn't argue. Kenan gave you an exasperated look, but notably, she didn't say anything.

You gave them both one last smile, waved, and went out the door.

Though you hadn't said it to them - because money was a large part of your life's goals, at the moment - you were also looking forward to getting back part of that equilibrium that had seemed to disappear recently.

Humans were different from Surfacers. Even the monsters from the Underground were different from Surfacers. And though you couldn't say that you liked every individual human, you were fond of humanity as a whole.

And these last few days... These last few days hadn't done much to remind you of that. You wanted to go out into the world, to remember why you loved it. To remember why you fought in a war for their sakes, why you _died_ for their ideals.

After all, you had been human once. The other undead types, vampires and ghouls alike, were allowed the luxury of forgetting they were human. They had so much more control over themselves, it was easy for them to blend in once they figured out how. That had never been the case for you - you could never forget what you had once been.

(What you had once _done_.)

Still, you shook your head, ridding yourself of those thoughts. They weren't especially helpful right now, and you hardly wanted to be caught unawares while at the train station. That was just asking for disaster.

Once you'd gone on at your stop, you dug out your headphones and scrolled through your music, finding something to listen to. Then, you tilted your head back against the seat and did your best to get some rest, knowing that you had a long day of hauling around car parts and avoiding your (well-meaning but extremely creepy) boss to get to.

But, of course, you weren't allowed to have that, because not even a moment after you settled in, someone cleared their throat next to you, clearly trying to get your attention.

You opened one eye, lazily glancing over, only to see a skeleton staring back at you.

"WHY, HELLO AGAIN!" Gunner said, just as cheerful as he had been when they'd found a dead body in your apartment. "WHAT A COINCIDENCE, MIND IF I SIT?"

He didn't actually wait for your answer, sitting down before you'd even gotten a chance to open your mouth.

You snorted - yeah, a _coincidence_. You were sure that these mob types were really good at that sort of thing. Still, Gunner was a nice enough guy, so you'd let it pass for now.

"Something I can do for you?" you said, keeping your guard up even as you attempted to give him a friendly smile.

Gunner smiled back, absolutely inscrutable.

"ACTUALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU A FAVOR!"

You opened your other eye, looking at him directly.

"I'm listening."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: hm,,, consorting with the mob is probably not a good idea,,,  
> gunner: hey wanna get involved with mob stuff  
> reader: What Could Possibly Go Wrong
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	38. and you'll win eternal fame!

Was this a bad idea? Probably. Were you totally willing to do it regardless of that?  _ Yes. _

"So..." Felix began, looking at you with deep suspicion. "Where are you going, exactly?"

"To the Alley." It wasn't a lie, after all.

The cat monster shifted in place, taking a drag off his cigarette. The two of you were standing outside your apartment building - you had almost managed to get away without either of your roommates seeing you, but Felix had actually managed to surprise you at the last moment, the crafty bastard.

"So soon?" he said, frowning. "I thought you took today off so you could  _ rest." _

"And I will!" You assured him, doing your best to sound genuine. "This is going to be very restful compared to the weekend."

That also wasn't a lie, as far as you knew. You were the master of half-truths.

As always, Felix seemed entirely too skeptical of your good nature, but you accepted it with good grace, smiling innocently at him. He wasn't very impressed, but he let you pass him with a sigh.

You hesitated on the bottom step, wondering if you should say something, but there really wasn't time. You had an appointment to keep, after all.

...

When you strolled up to the Public Library, they were already there. Gunner smiled at you as you approached, tipping his hat in a friendly gesture, but the child who was holding tightly onto his hand didn't react.

You weren't all that surprised - Gunner had told you yesterday that Frisk was very shy, and didn’t talk often to begin with.

"THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE," Gunner said cheerfully. When you got a closer look, however, you could tell that his smile was fraying at the edges, and there was faint signs of exhaustion on his face. "MY BROTHER AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. WITH LUCK, THE SITUATION WILL BE RESOLVED SOON."

"No problem."

You were lost in thought, smiling at Frisk when they looked up at you. It wasn't too surprising that the mob brothers were being run ragged. Those damn hunters were still sniffing around, though they hadn't actually done anything yet.

Ebott was a tough city for hunters; it was a fact that you had once cursed, but you were extremely grateful for it now. Even before the Undergrounders had surfaced, Ebott had been a hotbed for monster activity, and no hunter was quite willing to rock the boat on that.

But having what basically amounted to unlicensed vigilantes making a home in their territory was probably bothering Gunner and Snipe quite a bit - you didn't envy them one bit. 

"Seriously, I wish you all the luck," you added, moving to step closer to the two of them and out of the sidewalk traffic. "This isn't a big deal. The kid and I will have fun, don't worry."

Gunner laughed, but there was a spot of relief there too.

"OF COURSE! I DO NOT DOUBT IT."

Then he turned to face Frisk, kneeling down to properly speak with them.

"BE CAREFUL, LITTLE PUP," Gunner said seriously, placing his hands on their shoulders. "MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN TO WHAT OUR FRIEND HAS TO SAY, OKAY?"

Frisk nodded obediently, chancing a glance up at you. You smiled again, doing your best to seem non-intimidating. You'd even shrunk down to a smaller size than normal for the occasion.

Gunner seemed to accept that for what it was, because he got back to his feet with a sigh, nodding to you one final time.

"YOU HAVE MY PHONE NUMBER," He stated, more of a reminder than anything else.

"Yep. We'll be back here at four o'clock sharp."

With that, Gunner jogged off, both you and Frisk waving goodbye as he crossed the street.

There was a strained, awkward silence for a moment, but you did your best not to let it bother you. Before you could get any further, you had to ask...

"Hey, kid," you said, causing them to look up at you. "Do you want me to call you Frisk, or Little Pup?"

Gunner had informed you that their real name was Frisk (which you had guessed, just based on what you knew about the numerous kids that had broken numerous barriers), but he had only referred to them as Little Pup in conversation, and in person. It was worth an ask, at least.

Frisk stared at you blankly for a moment, and then held up one finger.

"Frisk, then?"

A nod.

"Cool. Little Pup is their nickname for you, right? So it must be special. I get that." It wasn't  too hard to understand, by any means. Nicknames were a common thing in the military, and you knew the importance behind them.

Frisk, it seemed, hadn't been expecting that reaction, because they blinked in confusion, and then they  _ beamed. _

You were actually taken aback by the brightness of their smile, and you felt a flush of embarrassment climbing up your neck.

"Jeez... Don't look at me like that," you huffed. You held out your hand, and Frisk took it without an ounce of hesitation. You nearly melted - this kid was so goddamn cute. "Ready to see the sights?"

They nodded again, bouncing a little on their heels. They looked eager, and you really hoped that you would be able to deliver. God, you hadn't been prepared for this. You never interacted with kids.

But, still. Gunner had asked you with such a hopeful expression on his face, you really hadn't been able to say no.

And... As far as you knew, Frisk hadn't been involved in any Surfacer-type shenanigans, so this would probably be a new experience for them. And you still remembered what it had been like, that first time you had really seen magic, seen monsters.

You had already been a monster by then, but still, it had filled you with awe.

"Let's head off, then."

The two of you turned around the corner, Frisk watching in curiosity as you lead them towards what looked like any other dirty city alleyway.

Then, the air rippled around you, and the next step forward lead you into a world of color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: yeah i've never really liked kids, too much of a hassle -   
> little pup: *smiles*  
> reader: I Like One (1) Kid
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	39. but when it comes to making monsters,

When you saw the look on Frisk's face, you were suddenly so glad that you'd agreed to do this. Suddenly, your exhaustion and worry didn't even faze you anymore.

That expression of pure  _ wonder... _

Fuck, that made  _ everything _ worth it.

Instead of saying anything to that effect, you only smiled.

"Pretty cool, huh?" you said casually, trying not to let on just how much their excitement was influencing you. 

Frisk nodded rapidly, nearly shaking from the sheer happiness coming off of them in waves.

You bit back a laugh, tugging them forwards.

"Come on," you said encouragingly, your smile growing as they looked up at you in question. "There's still way more to see."

They brightened even more, if that was possible, and lurched forward, leaving you to hurry to keep pace with them as they tried to 

And no wonder, too - it was a busy day today.

Market stalls were lining the streets, all sorts of different sounds and smells drifting in from the outskirts. You could tell that someone was grilling . A few feet away from you, a small dog with an axe-shaped head wandered by, tongue out as it panted rapidly. Frisk looked like they dearly wanted to pet it, so you had to regrettably turn their attention away, knowing from experience that the Axehandle Hound was not nearly as soft and cuddly as it appeared. 

You were more and more glad that you had decided to come today; and that Frisk had been able to come with you. Truth be told, you'd entirely forgotten that the Air Market was being held today - they switched up the days randomly, so it was never at any set time, but you had found out when the latest one would be the last time you came around. It must have slipped your mind in all the events that followed... Oh well.

The stall nearest to you was held by a a green-skinned witch, her back hunched and her eyes sharp. There was a large cauldron in front of her, simmering and smoking, and as the two of you watched, the witch tossed in a large clove of garlic, causing the whole thing to rumble ominously for a moment before settling.

Frisk, of course, was utterly enchanted. They tugged at your hand, making a pleading face as they gestured towards the stall, and you hardly could have denied them. You actually felt yourself almost melt at the sight of their cute face, so you were hardly in any position to stop them from skipping over and peering curiously into the cauldron.

The witch, upon noticing her young admirer, cackled heartily, her big grin showing off her multitude of sharpened teeth.

"My, you're rather little, aren't you?" she mused, her voice rough and somehow still musical, like the wind rustling through a pile of fallen leaves. "I bet you could fit your whole body in this cauldron!"

"Perhaps, but today is not the day to find out." You quickly intervened, especially when Frisk began to eye the cauldron as if gauging how easily they would be able to climb in.

They actually pouted at you when you pulled them back, but you stayed firm. However, you didn't take them away from all their fun.

You turned back to the witch, who was watching your little scene with an amused glint in her eyes.

"What else are you doing today?" you said. "Anything safe for my little buddy here?"

Frisk shot you a weird, half-excited, half-grudging look, but then they eagerly waited to see what the witch had to say, the old woman only continuing to cackle.

"Why, a tenacious child like this one?" she chuckled, and then reached behind her to take something out of the crate she was using as a backrest. "I have just the thing!"

She pulled out a large pendant, the front of it glinting red with an ominous air. There was a stone on the front, shaped to look like a heart. Or a soul, by the way Sans and Papyrus had explained it. Either way, it was gaudy and not entirely fashionable - a conversation starter, maybe, but that wasn't all it could do. You knew what it was, of course - a low-grade protection charm, something that was cool to look at and only slightly functional.

Frisk, however, almost seemed like they were going to explode when it came in their line of sight, immediately holding out their hands and making a pleading expression. The witch gladly allowed Frisk to hold it, and the stone embedded in the front seemed to glow stronger once they had a tight grip on it.

"Only forty-five dollars," she said slyly, and you immediately wanted to groan. 

That was way more than something like this was worth, but...  _ Whatever.  _ You weren't going to try and bargain this time, it wasn't worth it.

"Hag," you shot back accusingly, though you couldn't have hid the grin on your face if you tried. Seeing Frisk so enchanted with the damn thing, it was hardly like you could say no. "Here's your money, you grifter."

The witch only grinned smugly.

"Thanks for your business," she cooed, before erupting into another bout of laughter, the large raven sitting on her hat (which you had only just realized was real, what the hell) cackling along with her.

You rolled your eyes and left the booth, Frisk and their toy securely in your grasp. It was odd and way too endearing to see it in their grasp, since the damn thing was nearly too big for them to even hold.

"Want me to find a bag or something for you?" you offered, not wanting them to have to hold it the whole time.

Frisk shook their head, and made a downward slashing gesture with their hand, something that you had seen both the skeleton brothers and Felix do many times.

"Oh!" you said, realizing what they meant. "You can access your inventory, cool. You gonna equip it, then?"

That was all stuff that Papyrus had tried to explain to you, but it had been rather hard to grasp. Only human mages and Undergrounders seemed capable of it, and you were neither.

But Frisk nodded, drawing you out of your thoughts. The pendant disappeared in a tiny flash of red, though you thought you could almost see a tiny version of it pinned to the front of their shirt.

Frisk reached out to grab your hand again, and you squeezed it gently when they did so.

That made them look up at you, allowing you a moments glimpse of their beautiful, golden eyes.

"...Thank you." 

The whisper was so quiet, nearly unnoticeable, but you still caught it.

You blinked. Tried not to let your joy overtake you.  _ Don't make a big deal out of it... _

"You're welcome."

Still, you squeezed their hand again - you couldn't help it. They squeezed back, still smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> little pup: *does literally anything*  
> reader: ...  
> reader: *calls gunner* yeah you know how i said i would bring the kid back? i lied
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	40. rob a grave or two,

As the end of the day loomed closer, you were honestly surprised by how disappointed you felt to be leaving. This had been fun, and Frisk was... a good kid.

You were never around kids, especially after the War. It didn't feel safe - for yourself, _or_ for them. It had taken you so long to get even a modicum of control, being around a child and so hungry felt like it was just asking for trouble.

But lately you had been... _calm._ Or at least, relatively so, considering your freak-out a little while ago, but you hadn't even killed anyone that time! And wasn't that a miracle of epic proportions.

So, yeah. Frisk was safe, and so were you. And the two of you'd had a kickass day of fun and magic, and that was always a bonus!

"Ready to head out, kiddo?" You said, smiling down at them. It was nearly four, so it was about time to get back out to Gunner. You didn't think it was a particularly good idea to keep the trigger-happy mobster waiting, after all.

Frisk nodded, yawning into their little fist. The kid had started drooping about an hour back, after the two of you had grabbed some lunch, but they insisted on walking on their own.

You had to walk a bit slower to stay with their now-sluggish pace, but you hardly minded.

Picking your way through the crowds, you marveled at the fact that the market was still as busy as ever. Understandable, considering just how many inhabitants of the Alley were more nocturnal in nature, but it was still a sight to see.

You managed to squeeze back the Alley's entrance with Frisk in tow, none the worse for wear. Frisk paused to take one last, longing look at the Alley behind them, and then sighed, beginning to trudge forward.

You made a split-second decision. Kneeling down, you gently poked Frisk's head, getting their attention.

"Frisk, this doesn't have to be the last time you come," You said quietly, a sense of understanding blossoming within you. It was hard to leave behind something as beautiful and alive as the Alley, especially the first time. "You won't be able to come on your own, but I would be happy to bring you, anytime you want."

Frisk stared up at you, eyes wide, before their grin nearly overtook their face, nodding rapidly.

You laughed, standing back up.

"Well then, don't look so glum!" You teased. "Don't want your Paps to think you had a bad time with me, right?"

Frisk let out a little muffled giggle, hiding it behind their fist. With a chuckle of your own, you gently walked Frisk away from the magic, and back to the real world.

Gunner was waiting for you as you turned the corner, a new edge of exhaustion to his face that wasn't there before. You wavered, wondering if you should do or say something, but the choice was taken out of your hands.

Frisk broke free from your grip, rocketing forwards to plaster themself against Gunner's legs.

"OH, LITTLE PUP!" He said, breaking out into a toothy grin. "I HAVE MISSED YOU!"

Gunner reached down, pulling Frisk up and into his arms as he twirled around in a circle, making the child shriek and giggle with delight.

"OH, AND YOU TOO," He said offhandedly, once he noticed your presence.

You resisted a smirk, deciding not to hold it against him. It had undoubtably been a long day.

"Same, man," You said. "Hope everything went well for you."

"VERY LUCRATIVE!" Gunner said, which was probably the best you were gonna get. "AND YOUR OWN TRIP?"

"Eye-opening," you said, which was also true enough.

Gunner made as if to say something, but he was interrupted when Frisk tugged on his sleeve, pulling him closer so that they could whisper something to him.

"AH, WONDERFUL IDEA!" Gunner said to his young companion, before turning to face you. "WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH US?"

You blinked, scratching the back of your head sheepishly. "I mean, I'm not usually one to turn down free food, but I told my roommates that - "

"LET'S GO TO DINNER," he repeated.

That didn't actually sound like much of a question.

...

"so, you had a good time?" Snipe asked the child sitting next to him at the table, still subtly trying to interrogate the both of you, as he had been since you first stepped through the door.

Frisk nodded, busy trying to stuff as much spaghetti in their face as possible. He turned to you, silently asking your opinion, and you smiled as you finished your own last bite of food.

"It was fun, definitely. We picked a good day to go, the market was in full swing," you said. Somehow, you got the feeling that you knew where this was heading.

"ey, maybe we can go with you, next time," Snipe said, eyelights glinting in an entirely too suspicious way.

You raised an eyebrow, but smiled.

"I wouldn't mind that, but coming with me wouldn't get you out of having to write an application."

Snipe cursed under his breath, Gunner too occupied with wiping Frisk's mouth to notice, but you had to hide a smirk.

Figured that he was using this as an opportunity to try and get into the Alley - non-Surfacers had to fill out an application to enter, and they could only get something like that from a sponsor. Precautions like these were the reasons that humans still didn't know about the Alleys, even though monsters had been revealed.

Frisk had been able to come because they were a minor, and they were with you. Otherwise, they would have had to fill out an application as well.

"strangely enough, my application keeps gettin' rejected," Snipe grumbled, looking very put-out.

You hid a snort. Unsurprising, considering he probably wanted to get into the Alley so that he could expand his 'business' prospects. That might've worked in any other Alley in the world, but not Ebott's.

"BROTHER, THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO DISCUSS BUSINESS," Gunner scolded, jumping back into the conversation now that Frisk didn't look like they'd faceplanted right into their spaghetti.

"yeah, yeah." Snipe waved his hand dismissively, but you noticed that his shoulders seemed to relax, and his eyes focused on Frisk fondly instead of trying to figure out the best way to con you.

You couldn't help but smile. These three were a good family, there was no doubt about it.

Actually, that reminded you... Whatever happened with Chara, the kid that had broken the barrier for Sans and Papyrus? You should probably ask them, sometime.

But Frisk broke you from your musing thoughts with another tremendous yawn, and you figured that was your cue.

You stood up from the table, bringing your dishes over to the sink. "Should I wash - ?"

"NO, NO, I'LL TAKE CARE OF IT," Gunner assured you, and you smiled back at him as you gave your thanks.

"I appreciate the meal, really. I think it's about time for me to get going, though" you said, patting Frisk affectionately on the head as you walked by. They pushed their head up against your hand, nearly making you melt, but you stayed strong.

When you glanced back up, the skeleton brothers were looking at you... _differently_ than they had before. A little less guarded, maybe.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO COME BACK AGAIN, SOMETIME," Gunner said, and you got the feeling that he really meant it this time.

"yeah, it would be nice to have an on-site babysitter for the kid," Snipe teased, but you honestly felt pretty touched that they would trust you with their child at all.

"Anytime," you promised.

Frisk beamed up at you, and the miniature pendant on their shirt, the red-jeweled thing that you could barely see, shined just the tiniest bit brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans: oh hey, what've you been up to, haven't seen you in a couple days  
> reader: well, i went to the alley and almost got my head chopped off several times -  
> paps: what  
> reader: hung out with the lust bros -  
> sans: what  
> reader: and i got forcibly invited to dinner with the mob bros!  
> skelebros in tandem: _what_
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!!
> 
> the lovely @addicted-to-the-fic on tumblr has made this amazing piece of [fanart](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com/post/183040844041/ready-for-the-hunger-and-fluff-oh-i-had-fun-with)!! please fawn over it with me, I'm so in love 
> 
> lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	41. stop the shop from closing,

"i can't leave you alone for five fuckin' minutes."

"I resenth 'at," you mumbled around the screwdriver you had clenched between your teeth. "Wrench, pleath."

Papyrus obediently handed you the wrench, but he continued to hover over you with a very disapproving air.

Sighing, you dropped both tools and pulled yourself out from underneath the car you were working on. When you looked up at him, he wasn't quite scowling (you'd found that he wasn't much one for showing negative emotions on his face - he would smile and laugh, but if he was angry or upset he always tried his best to keep a blank face), but you could see by how narrow his eyelights were that he wasn't exactly pleased either.

You sat up, giving him your best comforting smile. You would've patted him on the shoulder or something too, but your hands were covered in grease.

"Really, man. Those brothers are about as shady as it gets, but I don't think their scheme is going to be involving me yet."

You were referring, of course, to the mob brothers. When you'd arrived at work this morning and told Papyrus what you had been up to since the last time you'd seen him, he'd been concerned about the incident in the Alley, but he had been understanding, too. It wasn't until you actually got around to telling him about your babysitting(?) gig with Snipe and Gunner that he'd actually gotten worried.

While he didn't know Whimsy or Amor very well, he'd told you that he had met them a couple of times, and knew that they were fairly good-natured. Papyrus didn't think he had to worry about your safety when it came to them, at least. He apparently couldn't say the same for the mob brothers.

It was sweet, if completely unnecessary. But you knew that telling him that wouldn't help the situation any (and might actually hurt his feelings), so you kept it to yourself.

"see, when you use the word yet, that makes me think i have a right to be concerned," he said dryly, which, fair point.

"I get ya," you said, stretching for a moment to let your back crack, and making as if to get up.

Papyrus winced when he heard that sound, appearing faintly ill, but quickly shook it off and offered you a hand.

He was wearing work gloves (which you should've been doing too, technically, but... eh), so you didn't feel bad about grabbing his hand and letting him pull you up.

"i think it's about time for our lunch break," he said, gesturing towards the clock. "wanna get cleaned up and head out?"

"Hell yeah, dude. Gimme a sec."

The two of you went your separate ways, Papyrus to change back into his normal jacket and you to at least try and scrub some of this gunk off. Gah, your nail beds looked perpetually black with all this crap you were handling constantly. That was something of a comfort though, to be honest. Reminded you of the old days, fingertips stained yellow because smoking was something all the cool kids did.

You'd actually smoked for a while, up until the government finally decided to tell you that it was actually poison. By that point, it hadn't bothered you too much since you were already dead, but second-hand smoke was something that you weren't willing to subject anyone to.

Also, perhaps more pertinently, cigarettes were way too fucking expensive for you to be addicted to on your salary. You spent pretty much all your money on rent and groceries, anyway.

Shaking yourself out of those melancholy thoughts, you grabbed your phone from the break room where you'd left it to charge and decided to wait outside for Papyrus. Knowing him, he was trying to gain the courage to just quickly scarf down whatever monstrosity that Sans had cooked up for him this time so that he could come join you to get some real food.

You'd asked him time and time again why he kept eating Sans' cooking if he hated it so much (why wouldn't he just give it to you instead??), but he would only shrug, giving some lame half-excuse.

But, well... After getting to know the two of them better, you knew why. Sans might have been a shitty cook, but he never gave it anything less than his full effort. There was something to admire in that, you supposed.

You also knew for a fact that Papyrus couldn't be bothered to do anything more strenuous than stick a ready-meal in the microwave, so going along with this was probably just less effort for him.

You laughed to yourself at the thought, pulling out your phone so that you could shoot Sans a teasing text about it, when a skeletal hand moved to cover your eyes from behind.

"guess who?"

"The Grim Reaper."

Papyrus chuckled, moving to stand in front of you with his hands in his pockets. "no, not yet."

You rolled your eyes, but couldn't resist a smile. "Damn, and here I thought that I was finally free."

Papyrus laughed again, but he fell silent a moment later, eyes searching you intently.

"...you okay?"

You blinked, slipping your phone back in your pocket so you could give him your full attention.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you said, confused. "What brought that on?"

He studied you for a moment longer, before he shrugged, glancing away.

"you've been kinda distant today. hazy," he observed.

You almost wanted to curse him for knowing you this well.

"I... sorry," you mumbled, not sure what else to say. Talking to him and his brother about your past had been good, cathartic even, but it had also dredged up so many memories that you had wanted to keep buried.

Not even ones about your (un)death, or the War. But about your life before all of that, everything that you had left behind. 

It had been literal years since you'd last thought of your family, but your interactions with and all those Surfacers affected by the cannibals, your time with Frisk...

It kept reminding you, no matter how much you tried to pull away. 

But before you could sink too deep into that treacherous pit, you felt Papyrus' hand land on top of your head, and he gently ruffled your hair.

"c'mon," he said, stepping away, not commenting on your abrupt loss of composure. "I heard about a new food truck that i wanna try."

You smiled, feeling your shoulders relax as you followed him.

"You know I'm always up for playing the food roulette. Let's go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: gotta be honest, y'all. kinda miss my family. like a lot  
> papyrus: hey i could help with that. legally speaking
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	42. it all depends on you!

Eventually, the two of you finally got to the city park, stomachs (mostly) full and some time to relax before you had to go back to work.

You got the feeling that Papyrus still wanted to say something about your... 'hazy' mood, but you had managed to avoid bringing it up by talking about whatever random thing came to mind. To be honest, there really wasn't much that he could do about it anyway.

Sometimes, this just happens. Sometimes, things just suck. But that didn't mean that they were gonna suck forever. Most of the things that were upsetting you right now were things that you had no control over - people and places that were long, long gone.

Maybe telling them would make you feel better, but you weren't sure you were in the right place for that right now. As it was, everything had been so crazy lately that you hardly had a moment to just breathe.

So, yeah. The whole Feelings talk was gonna have to wait. And you knew that Papyrus would go along with it; he was an understanding guy.

"So, whatcha doing tonight?" you said, leaning back on the park bench and shifting to get a better look at your companion. "Any plans?"

Papyrus gave you a Look, fully aware of what you were trying to avoid, but just as you'd known he would, he didn't bring any attention to it. 

"actually, yeah," he said, sounding a bit regretful. "i guess we forgot to tell you, huh? we're gonna be gone for the rest of the week."

You nearly jolted yourself right off of your perch, totally startled. "The rest of the week? How come?"

Papyrus grimaced, his golden fang glinting in the sunlight. "some 'retreat' that our counterparts planned. ostensibly, the point is so that everyone can catch up, but we all know that it's to keep an eye on the versions that come from 'darker' timelines."

You blinked, still a bit befuddled.

"I mean... Don't pretty much all of you live in the same town? Why're you gonna be gone for nearly a week?"

Papyrus shrugged, still looking pretty sour. "most live in ebott, yeah. but there are a fair few that left this area as quickly as they could, including those so-called originals. and they actually had the  _ audacity _ to demand that we come to them instead of the other way around."

You couldn't help but snort, nudging him on the shoulder. "Someone sounds a little bitter, my man."

He sighed, leaning over so that he could slump against your side. You tried to protest, inching away from him, but he just kept following you until you were trapped between the unfeeling metal of the bench's arm, and his skeletal form.

Jerk.

"comfort me," he demanded grumpily, nudging his skull against your shoulder like some kind of weird cat.

"Absolutely not. You did something to deserve this, you just haven't confessed what," you countered.

Still, though, you couldn't fight a smile, reaching up your hand to gently pat his skull.

"Well, want me to try and come up with something?" you offered, willing to try and compromise with this. To be honest, you didn't want the brothers to be gone for that long either. 

Not to mention, since it was a meeting for them and all of their counterparts, that meant that Whimsy, Amor, Serif, and Rus would be gone too! That was like, ninety-percent of your friend group, that just couldn't be allowed.

Well, the mob brothers would be involved as well, probably - though you couldn't imagine that they would be all that willing to leave not only their kid behind, but also all of their business ventures. But you didn't know them too well, so you didn't think you would mourn their loss too much.

"come up with something?" Papyrus parroted, his eyelights flicking up to look at you from his slumped position. "like what?"

"I could become deathly ill," you said, shrugging. "I need Nurse Papyrus to keep me alive, and Nurse Papyrus needs Doctor Sans to keep  _ him _ alive. Problem solved."

Papyrus abruptly sat up, hands coming up to cover his mouth as his shoulders shook with the force of his snorting laughter.

You watched him gleefully, happy that you had managed to lift his mood somewhat.

"...So, is that a yes?"

"no!" he cried out, still laughing. "you're not gonna get  _ deathly ill _ just to get me out of a meeting!"

You tutted, crossing your arms in an over-exaggerated gesture. "Alright. But I want you to know that's always on the table."

"...do you have a deathly illness prepared at all times, or something?" he said, voice somewhat shaking as he tried to control his laughter.

You raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Of course I do. What do you think I am, a monster?"

There was a moment of silence.

And then the two of you were falling into laughter once more, holding onto each other so that you didn't fall off the bench.

For a second, you considered how you might look to anybody who was walking by you in the park: a pair of fully-grown monsters, giggling like children.

Well, you didn't mind how it looked. As long as Papyrus was happy, you were happy too.

Finally, you both managed to calm down, and stood up to begin the walk back to work.

Papyrus paused before you could get too far though, causing you to look back and tilt your head in confusion.

"Paps...? Something up?"

He shook his head, but gestured for you to come closer. You took a step forward, and he pulled you into an embrace, your current choice of body proportions making it so he was just tall enough to rest his skull on the crown of your head.

"thanks, really," he murmured, leaning against your steady form.

He let out a deep sigh, and you got the sense that he had been pretty stressed about this whole thing. You understood that - you rarely returned to the base where most of your other cousins lived, but it was undoubtedly an exercise in patience every time.

"Don't worry about it, man," you advised him kindly, circling your arms around his back and squeezing him lightly. "I'll still be here when you get back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: man, things sure are going well for me right now -  
> plot: i would hate to have to ruin that for you
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	43. uphold the family honor,

By the time you got back home and was feeling a bit more alive (metaphorically speaking), you decided that you were actually pretty jealous of Papyrus.

After all,  _ more _ versions of Sans and Papyrus?? Who wouldn't want to meet them? You hadn't met a bad one yet, and that included the mob brothers, at least for now. Gunner was, of course, delightful and delightfully brutal. Snipe was a nasty little weasel man, but you were kinda digging his vibe.

Still, you sympathized with Papyrus' plight. You figured that this was kinda like some weird, fucked-up version of a family reunion, right? Expect with a ton of versions of yourself, which would  _ definitely _ turn you off, if you were being honest.

It had taken you a long time to be okay with this version of you, you weren't too excited to meet up with some other version.

Honestly, the whole situation would probably be solved if you and Papyrus could just switch places for a little while, but you didn't think you'd be able to pull off his look too well.

Sure, you had a pretty skeletal appearance, but that wasn't the same as being an actual, literal skeleton, unfortunately.

Still, it is what it is. It wasn't like they were going to be gone for too long, and in the meantime, you could hang out with your roommates a bit more!

...You had kinda been neglecting them lately, with all the drama going on. It would be good to just relax for a night.

And, with fortuitous timing as usual, Felix came in the front door just as you made this decision. Which was perfect, since you usually had to ambush him and tie him to a chair to get him to play a game if Meanly wasn't here, so  _ now _ all you had to do was tie him to a chair.

"HEY FELIX, THINK FAST!" You cried out, psychically tackling him to the floor before he could make a move to escape. 

He let out a shrill scream of surprise, and then immediately began to melt his body to try and escape.

You, of course, allowed him no mercy, holding him in a tight grip as you began to drag his motionless body back to the couch, like a lion dragging a bloody carcass into the shadowy den.

"Please, no more Monopoly! No more!"

"You cannot escape the Monopoly!"

Kenan, having just arrived home from work herself, merely blinked at the sight, before a slow, entirely too innocent grin began to spread across her face.

These fools had no idea what they were getting into - Kenan was the undisputed King of Monopoly, and she was willing to do whatever it takes to keep her title.

...

"This is bullshit," Felix muttered. He wasn't quite courageous enough to say it loud enough for Kenan to hear, but you were sitting right next to him, and privy to all of his mumbled complaints. 

"I just don't understand how the zoo animals factor in," you said, scratching your head in confusion. "If they wander into my property, do they have to pay rent?"

"Oh, unfortunately not," Kenan said primly, not sounding very sorry about it at all, especially for the person who 'accidentally' left all the cages unlocked in the zoo. "In fact, if any of them go onto your spots, they'll wreak a lot of havoc and you'll have to pay for damages."

Okay, Felix was right, this  _ is _ bullshit.

"Am I legally allowed to shoot the animals?"

Kenan gasped dramatically, holding a hand to her forehead as if she just couldn't believe the audacity.

"Goodness me, no! They're all protected species! Besides, think of the children! How would they react to you killing Simba in broad daylight?!"

"I think it would be better off than having Simba kill them," Felix rolled his eyes, forcing you to muffle a snort.

"Children can be replaced, beloved childhood mascots cannot."

This time, you really lost it, laughter pouring out of you before you could stop it.

"This... is... so...  _ stupid!" _ You snorted, clapping your hands over your mouth to try and hide your huge grin. "Why do our Monopoly games always end up like this?"

"Because I must punish you for your hubris," Kenan answered promptly, sending you off into another round of laughter, Felix not too far behind.

She smirked proudly as the three of you continued to laugh at the absurdity of the situation, bickering over rules and wondering aloud whether you could sell the orphanage to the bank and let them take care of the kids.

However, before you could even get close to the conclusion of the game (which always ended up getting dragged out, since Kenan loved to see you and Felix suffer), your phone rang.

Considering the amount of people who had your phone number, and the reasons that they could be calling you, that was nothing good.

Waving them on to the continue with the game while you were gone - an exercise of Felix's good nature, basically - you ran to the kitchen to grab your phone, not even bothering to check who was calling before you hurriedly answered it. 

"Ah, hello?"

"Private," came the answering bark, forcing you to straighten up your posture without even realizing. "You're being recalled. Come back to Base, immediately."

You stood there for a split-second, completely stunned.  _ "...What?" _

You instantly regretted it, not wanting the Captain to think you were being insubordinate (regardless of the fact that you hadn't actually been his subordinate for many years), but thankfully he didn't dwell on your momentary rudeness.

"They're performing an inspection," he said tersely, a note of impatience in his voice that you only rarely heard. "You need to come back. We'll face a penalty if you don't."

Even though you knew that he wasn't in the mood to hear it, you still had to voice some kind of protest.

"Sir, I have permission to be off-base!" You said, your own frustration beginning to leak through. "I keep the paperwork up to date, I never miss a meeting, I've always done exactly what I need to. Why do they need me,  _ specifically, _ to come back?"

For a long moment, there was silence.

Then, you heard a tiny sigh come from the phone's receiver. 

"Private, I wish I knew. But you have to come. They mentioned you by name."

You felt a spike of dread, some unknowable force sending shivers up your spine.

"...Yes, sir."

Seemed that Papyrus and Sans weren't the only ones going away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader at beginning of chapter: hey, could be worse  
> reader at end of chapter: it got worse
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	44. you must toe the family line,

Your first thought, of course, was to tell the skeleton brothers. With something like this, you had no idea when you would be back (if you would even be coming back), and it was important to let them know about something like that, right?

....Right.

But, to your dismay, they had already left for their own trip by the time you managed to shake yourself out of your stupor, and neither of them could answer the phone. You briefly considered shooting them a text message, but decided against it at the last moment.

All that would do was stress them out, and you knew that they were about to be in a very stressful situation already. It wouldn't be fair to make it worse.

Your roommates hadn't taken it too well either, though you suspected that was mainly because Kenan was upset that she wouldn't get to completely own your ass in Monopoly, and Felix was upset that he would now be Kenan's sole target.

But you really didn't have any time to waste. The Captain had already forwarded you a plane ticket, which made it quite obvious that he hadn't been planning to give you a choice on this in the first place. You gracefully bowed out of the game, and went off to your room to pack.

As you were haphazardly shoving dirty tanktops into an equally ratty bag, your phone rang again - you weren't optimistic enough to believe that it was the Captain calling to tell you that it had all been a hilarious prank, so you just sighed and prayed that your situation wasn't about to get any worse.

You didn't recognize the number, and usually that would have been enough for you to ignore it, but considering how your day had been going, you figured ignoring it would not be the smartest decision.

"Hello?"

"hey."

_ Ah. _ Snipe.

You blinked, something strange occurring to you. Shouldn't he be on his way to the reunion  as well?

...Also, how had he gotten your phone number?

"need to ask you a favor."

"Well, I didn't think you'd be calling me for any other reason, to be honest," you said a bit distractedly, sniffing a pair of cargo shorts to see if they were too gross, before shrugging and throwing them in your bag regardless. 

"you like the kid, yeah? get along fine?"

"They're okay, I guess," you replied in a far too casual voice, ignoring the fact that Frisk had pretty much stolen your heart and you would never get it back. "What's up?"

"we kinda need someone to watch 'em. just for a couple of days," Snipe said gruffly, not sounding entirely happy about the idea, but resigned to it nonetheless.

"I..." 

Suddenly, the point of the call hit you, and you felt a strange surge of guilt. They must not have been able to find anyone to watch Frisk while they went to the reunion.

"I'm sorry," you apologized, though this wasn't exactly your fault. "I'm actually going away, tonight. I'm packing my bags right now."

Snipe let out a hissed breath, and you made a sympathetic expression, even though you knew he couldn't see it.

"how long will you be gone?" he said, and the vaguely desperate tone to his voice was enough to make you wince.

"I actually don't know," you said, and you felt genuinely apologetic. You wouldn't have minded looking after Frisk, truly, and turning down people's requests always made you feel like a douchebag. "I'm really sorry man, there was a family emergency. There's a chance I'll be gone for a while."

"shit..." he sighed, pure exhaustion coming through the receiver. "well, fuck. don't apologize, that's not somethin' you could’ve prevented.  _ fuck. _ we'll find something to do."

"Good luck," you said sincerely. "If you have absolutely no choice, you could drop Frisk off at the Hostel in Ebbott's Alley. I could ask my roommate to take them in there for you."

Snipe was silent for a moment, and then spoke; "nah, that's okay. i'd rather keep the kid with us, but i was willing to let it go 'cause of...  _ well, _ that doesn't matter. some people are just gonna have to learn to compromise. thanks anyway, pal. and good luck with your thing as well, i hope it turns out okay."

Some small part of you softened, relaxing for the first time since you'd gotten that phone call.

"Thanks, man," you said, a genuine smile emerging on your face. "You too."

You ended the call after saying goodbye, letting out a huge sigh as you faceplanted directly onto your pillow. 

_ Ugh. _ Now you felt bad about not getting to tell the bros what you were up to, bad about not being able to help with Frisk,  _ and _ bad about whatever the hell was going on back at base. 

It had been nice that Snipe had acted so... kind, though. He had been fairly polite at that first meeting, and Gunner had acted as the perfect gentleman, but you had realized quite early on in your acquaintance that those were only their public personas - Gunner had a tendency to be loud and nagging, and honestly pretty rude if he put his mind to it, and Snipe was so slimy that you could almost physically see it oozing off of him, but...

You really  _ did _ like them. And you were going to miss them.

Something cold gripped your heart, making you shiver. This wasn't the time to be acting like you were on your deathbed - you were going to go back to base and get this whole thing settled. You hadn't done anything wrong, after all.

Well, unless you counted that whole incident with the cannibals, but no one knew about that, right? Sans had been the only police officer on the scene, and you were confident that he wouldn't snitch on you. Some of the cannibals had seen you, of course, but who would be willing to listen to their testimony?

...Paranoid government officials, maybe.

_ Fuck. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: ughhhhh why is my life so stressful  
> author: *ducks behind a tree, sweating intensely*
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	45. for your name is - !

When you were being driven up to the front gate by a blank-faced security guard, you took a moment to feel nostalgic. 

You had lived in this place for years, after all. And for a while, when you'd been closer to the area, you would come and visit them. There was a part of you that had missed it, once you'd moved all the way to Ebott...

But not enough to come back willingly, you should note.

"Hey, thanks for the ride, Chuck," you said, nodding to the human as you grabbed your bag and left the car. "Always good to see you."

She continued to not react to you, or your presence. You called all the security guards Chuck. When you had first left the base, you'd actually had the habit of calling all humans 'Chuck', but you had mostly broken yourself of that tendency now. Mostly.

You went up to the front door, hitting the buzzer with one hand. There was probably still enough time to escape. Current-Chuck hadn't even sneered at you, so she probably wouldn't shoot you, right?? Not that it would be enough to stop you regardless, of course, but it wasn't like you enjoyed being shot.

Ugh.

You were still vaguely considering the logistics of such a thing when the large metal door slid open, another Chuck standing there, just as blank-faced as the last. No, actually, this one looked exasperated for a split-second upon noticing your arrival, which was how you knew this was one of the regulars. Only someone who was associated with your family on a daily basis got that look on their face.

"Please follow me," he said formally. "I'll be delivering you to the Captain's quarters."

"Wow, saucy," you commented, because you literally had no self-control and your desire to live had dropped a hundredfold once you'd stepped into this building. "Thanks, Chuck."

Ah,  _ there _ was the exasperation. "My name is Geoffrey."

"Cool."

Only a mere moment later, he dropped you off by the Captain's office, (not his private quarters, which was simultaneously relieving and a bit disappointing) and your kind farewell of "Thanks for the escort, Chuck," was met with another one of those looks.

Yeah, this one was definitely a keeper.

You knocked on the door, hoping that you would have a moment to steel your nerves before you went in, but your hopes were dashed immediately when you heard a barked; "Enter."

Heart practically in your throat, you pulled open the door. Most of the lights were off, and the Captain's chair was turned around. As always, there was a million goddamn candles lit, making it practically impossible to smell anything except for 'fresh mountain air' or whatever weird kick he was on at the moment.

Which meant, of course, that the whole scene was needlessly dramatic and causing you to shake in your boots, which was likely the intention.

"So, Private," came the deep voice, chair still turned around. "You finally arrive."

That wasn't a question.

"Yes, sir." C'mon, play it cool. At least try and sound like you're not one pointed comment away from bursting into tears.

"Hm." 

God, that was such a bad sound. You hated that sound. Why couldn't he ever make any  _ good _ sounds?

"...Er, do you want me to make my report now, sir?" You were desperately hoping for some way out of this place, but getting out of this conversation would do for now.

"No, Private." And it was with those words that the chair began to spin around to face you. "I want you to  _ die." _

You thought that you could actually feel your poor, undead heart stop beating for a second, and then all your tension promptly collapsed out of you with a whoosh.

"Mason, you  _ shithead. _ I'm going to kill you. I'm gonna chop you up and serve you for dinner, you  _ colossal asshole." _

Lt. Mason, sitting in the Captain's chair, only grinned at you.

"Hey, rookie," he said, folding his hands behind his head as he lifted his feet up onto the desk. "Took you long enough."

You were going to  _ kill him. _

...

Sans scowled bitterly into his (non-alcoholic, unfortunately) drink, one hand wrapped tightly around Little Pup's wrist. There was no way in hell that he was letting to kid wander around on their own today, not when literally any of their counterparts could decide that now was a good time to take out their misplaced aggression on a literal child.

He wouldn't be worried about it if it hadn't already happened before.

So, here he was, sitting at a table in the corner and trying to keep the poor jet-lagged kid entertained while Paps was off schmoozing with the masses.

Blue, the cheery bastard, had no qualms about ignoring Sans' ‘fuck off’ aura and marched right up to them, sitting down and beaming as if he was delighted to see them.

"HELLO SNIPE, AND HELLO FRISK!" he said energetically, nearly bouncing in his seat. "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE! IT WOULDN'T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU."

"honestly, i'm pretty sure it would be," Sans said dryly. Nothing important ever happened at these goddamn meetings. It was just another way for everyone to pretend that they could tolerate each other.

And for them to be 'discreetly' checked to see if they had more LOVE, of course. 

...Though, maybe he was being a bit too harsh. Most of these guys were pretty okay, and he actually  _ could _ tolerate most of them. And the ones he couldn't were mainly because of personality differences, not anything too extreme.

(And...  _ you _ had certainly surpassed his expectations. It wasn't impossible for someone else to do the same, right?)

So, with that thought in mind, he let out a sigh, mournfully pushing his drink to the side. When Sans looked up, Blue was still sitting there, smile as patient as ever. 

Frisk was leaning against his side, eyes closed, and Sans reached down to gentle pull his hand through their hair, calming his nerves.

"uh... good to see you again too, blue. what have you been up to?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mason: hey remember me  
> reader: yeah i remember all about how you RUINED MY LIFE YOU BITCH
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	46. meet your family!

"I almost died," you said, not entirely exaggerating. You braced your hands against the Captain's desk, not quite willing to lean against it (even without the man being present), but needing to give yourself some kind of support. "How dare you. I could have been killed, you bastard. Died of a heart attack on the spot, and what would you think then?"

You were going to kill Mason. And you wouldn't feel even the least bit bad about it, considering all he'd done to make your life miserable lately.

"Ah, c'mon rookie," he said, still with that smarmy grin on his face. "Can't a guy give his  _ cousin _ a warm welcome?"

Your self-control was rapidly disintegrating with every word that left his mouth. 

"I'll give you a  _ warm welcome, _ alright," you muttered under your breath, narrowing your eyes. 

Scowling at him furiously, the sound of your creaking bones filled the office as you forced yourself grow just enough to be unsettlingly large. You were looming over him now, your jaw beginning to stretch and crack from the weight of your suddenly heavy canines.

You hissed at him violently, knowing that your eyes had already shifted into the misty, dead stare that you used to scare away handsy people in bars, weirdos on the subway, and the occasional cannibal. 

Mason simply looked back at you, entirely unaffected. He even raised an eyebrow, as if to ask if this was really the best that you could do.

Oh.  _ Right. _

Letting out a frustrated huff, you shrunk back to a more manageable form, foregoing the intimidating sound effects this time. You'd forgotten - Mason was a Wendigo too. And considering the fact that he had been recently hunting in your area, and was also quite a bit bigger than you in his full form, you were hardly intimidating.

_ Drat. _ All this time on the outside really had left you soft - you were starting to get way too used to being able to intimidate someone with just a flash of the creepy eyes.

With a bit of a pout, you moved back from the desk, resisting the urge to cross your arms over your chest in defiance.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," you said grumpily, trying to push aside your immense desire to shove Mason into a locker or something equally juvenile. "Seriously though, what the hell was that? Were you the one who called me here?"

If so, you were going to throw the  _ world's biggest tantrum. _ Mimicking voices was one of the base attributes for a Wendigo, though it was usually only used when luring people in during a hunt. It was one of the reasons that your kind was classified as a spirit instead of just the general category of 'undead'. 

Of course, you rarely had that tricked pulled on you. And if he had arranged all of this just to make an ill-timed prank at your expense, you didn't care that he was a good five feet taller than you - you were going to smother his stupid face in the dirt.

"Oh, no. I didn't call you here. That was the Captain, I promise. I just... took advantage of it," Mason chuckled lightly, still with that infuriating smile. But you noticed that the skin around his eyes was stretched tight, clearly fighting to keep his expression even.

Pursing your lips, you decided to drop the shitty prank for now and concentrate on the reason you were brought here in the first place.

"You're worried," you stated, not even having to consider any other explanation. Once you've known someone for almost a century, you begin to pick up on these things.

His smile was brittle now, and for the first time since you had walked in today, he began to look serious.

"The Inspection." It wasn't a question, but you found yourself nodding along anyway.

"Do you have any idea why they called for  _ me _ specifically?" You were praying desperately that it wasn't for the reason you thought it was, but honestly -  _ any _ reason was bad.

"Nothing solid," he said, voice terse. "It could just be because you're the only one who lives permanently off of base. Or it could be something else. I'm looking into it."

His eyes flashed, and you were reminded, suddenly, just why this man was allowed back into base with almost no repercussions after crossing the country and dumping a corpse in your apartment. No one messed with Mason. He certainly wasn't the only one who had a tendency to get lost in his baser instincts, but he had the good (or bad, depending on who you asked) luck of being very clever about it. Even when he was caught in the thrall of the hunt, Mason could always move and disappear like a ghost.

It was comforting, somehow. Absolutely terrifying, of course, but still...

At least he was on your side. Even when he was doing shitty pranks to you like the world's worst older brother, he was on your side. All of your 'cousins' were, the people that you had fought and bled and  _ died _ with in the war.

Finally, you felt your shoulders relax, allowing yourself to untense a bit. While you wouldn't exactly describe this place as home, at least you weren't alone.

At least here, you wouldn't be left out in the dust.

...

After a few more jabs at your fashion sense and other very mean things, Mason escorted you from the office, dragging you to your quarters and bragging about his new tv every step of the way.

Technically, since they hadn't been in any of the common areas, one of the guards should have been the one to escort you, but as you locked eyes with the Chuck from before, silently begging for an escape, he had only blinked, slowly, and then returned to facing forward without a word.

Traitors, the lot of them. You should have him court martialed for this.

Still, though, once Mason left you with strict instructions to rest until dinner, you couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

You were undoubtedly going to steamrolled at dinner tonight, with everyone around to harass and lecture you in equal measure, so you really needed to get some relaxation in now.

Just as your eyes were about to close, however, you snapped to attention at the sound of your phone's buzzer going off.

Someone had just texted you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: I Hate This  
> mason: want me to make it worse??  
> reader: god, you already have
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	47. show some family pride

It was Sans. Which, honestly, was pretty surprising. Usually, if one of the brothers needed you for something, Papyrus would be the one to text you about it.

_*Where are you?_

Okay, that was a bit concerning. It was always hard to read tone in a text message... Maybe he was hoping that you could stop by their apartment for something? Feed their cat, maybe?

They didn't have a cat. You were just stalling.

You hesitated for a moment, knowing that the answer wouldn't help much, but shoved down your anxiety and did it anyway.

***I know this is going to sound fake, but it's actually confidential. I'm not at home right now.**

Almost immediately after you went the text, you could see those three little dots show up on the screen to show that he was typing. Oh, boy.

_*If you are truly unable to talk about it, I won't ask._

_*But if you are still around the Ebott area, be careful. There was a fire by the north side, and people are saying that Hunters were involved._

You sucked in a breath, eyes widening as you double-checked what he had written, hoping desperately that it was some kind of mistake. That area wasn't close to your apartment or your job, thank fuck, but that was still terrifying.

Hunters, _really?_

You would have thought that they'd moved on by now - they'd been prowling Ebott for almost a month now, handing out extrajudicial justice whenever they saw fit. Which was illegal, for a number of reasons.

To be honest, you'd almost completely forgotten about them. With everything else that had been going on recently, you just didn't have the time to devote any more worry to something like that.

And you still didn't, really. You weren't even in the same _state_ right now, so you were just going to have to let it go.

***Thanks for letting me know. I'm not in the area right now, but I'll check up on my roommates and make sure everything's okay.**

You texted Sans back, and then switched to your conversation with Kenan. After waiting for a few minutes for her to get back to you, she confirmed that both of them, along with your other acquaintances, were doing just fine.

You let out a shaky breath when you saw that, taking a moment to press the cool screen of your phone to your forehead. This was too stressful. If things kept going like this, you just knew that you were going to explode.

Selfishly, you wished that the skeleton brothers were around right now. _Any_ of them, really.

Sans and Papyrus were your dear friends, always so understanding with you on even your worst days. Whimsy and Amor always managed to make you laugh, so carefree with their touches and affection even after learning about just what kind of a monster you were. Rus and Serif were the pair that you had spent the least time with, and even now you were missing them. They had been through some similar shit to you, and right now you wanted nothing more than to try and speak with them, tell them that you could empathize with even a _little_ bit of their suffering.

Hell, you were even missing the mob brothers. As dastardly and vaguely menacing as the pair was, they had never _truly_ done anything to harm you, and they had trusted you to watch over their kid. That meant something, you knew that much. (Also, Frisk was possibly the most adorable thing you had ever seen, but regardless.)

You just... You missed the companionship, the good friends and bad laughs.

You were so _tired._

"Rookie?"

You turned, unable to muster up a proper greeting when you saw Mason standing by your open door.

He gave you a little half-smile, expression unreadable. "Time for dinner."

...

You were exhausted. That much was obvious.

Mason was barely able to keep himself from shifting awkwardly in place, sticking his hands in his pockets so that he wouldn't be tempted to pull you closer. His instincts had always been higher, especially after one of his little unauthorized killing sprees.

He could barely remember it. It was all just a haze of emotions and emptiness, always _so_ empty. He knew that he had visited you at one point, tracked you down from across the country and tried to help 'provide' for you.

In his blank mind, all he could think was that you weren't eating enough. You were going to starve. He had to do something, he had to provide for his _family_ -

And, uh, then he'd dumped a corpse on your carpet. Which, admittedly, might have been a bit upsetting.

Even now, though, he could feel the urge. You were tired, you were hungry (fuck, everyone was _always_ hungry in this place), and he could help with that.

He could _h e l p_ if you just let him get you something to _e a t_ -

Gritting his teeth, Mason shook his head for a moment, closing his eyes and trying to rein himself in. When he opened them again, you were standing there with a concerned expression on your face, looking so _small_ -

You had just been a kid when you were dragged into this, how was this fair? How was _any_ of this fair? You had been a kid, he had been yet another idiot who got caught trying to dodge the draft, and where were you both now?

Monsters wearing human skin. Predators, lurking in the shadows.

"Mason?" You said. Your voice sounded so far away. Why had you gone away? He couldn't protect you if you went away.

"Mason, are you okay?"

He had to _do_ something. You were being too loud - the enemy was going to hear you. You were being too loud - the humans were going to hear you.

Mason had stopped moving. He didn't know when, but he was standing stock-still in a corridor that he didn't recognize, and the Rookie was in front of him, trying to reach out.

Why were you so thin? They needed to get more provisions. They - They needed to get to the kitchen. The canteen? The dining hall?

"Mason," you said, holding out your hand. It was just barely hovering away from his face, where he could feel that his jaw had begun to elongate, this (un)familiar feeling of anger coursing through him.

No... It wasn't anger.

It was _hunger._

Suddenly, he blinked, and his vision cleared. He saw you then, wearing your modern clothing with your modern, monstrous body.

He smiled.

"My, I must have gotten distracted. Let's head off to the dining hall, shall we? I don't know about you, but I'm _starving!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mason: hey kid!  
> reader: ...hi? you okay, dude?  
> mason: absolutely not! next question!
> 
> gotta say, loving the mixed reviews on my boy mason lol. wonder what y'all will think of him after this arc... but anyway, hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	48. make yourself a monster . . .

You hesitated for a moment before following after Mason, warring with your inner thoughts. He was... _not_ okay.

What were you supposed to do about it? Was there anything you _could_ do?

Glancing at his smiling face, you decided to let it go for now, since the two of you were approaching the Dining Hall's doors. But you made a note to yourself to bring up the incident with the Captain later.

Mason probably wouldn't appreciate it, but he was family, for all that he acted like a huge asshole. You couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

For now, however, you pushed it to the back of your mind. The murmur of voices was coming from the other side of the door, and you let out a little sigh as you reached out.

Pushing the door open, you stepped into the Dining Hall - and instantly, all sound cut out.

No one spoke. No one even moved. Nearly a hundred pairs of eyes staring back at you, all eerily still.

Then, predictably, pandemonium broke out.

"ROOKIE!"

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD, GET OVER HERE!"

"DIBS!"

You let out a strangled yelp, trying to duck behind Mason in some pitiful plea for safety, but as always, Mason was happy to reject it. He stepped to the side, leaving you in full view of the approaching mob with no way to escape it.

Just as you were contemplating whether you would be escaping this with your life, you were swept up into the crowd, tossed from one soldier to the next as everyone chattered loudly.

"It's been so long - "

"Where the hell even were you, anyway?"

"You need to visit more often, kid - !"

You wheezed pathetically, feeling like a child's toy that was caught in the middle of a tug-of-war. In fact, your limbs were getting stretched to their very limits, causing you to be on almost both sides of the room at once.

"P-Please let me go," you managed to stutter out, afraid that you were about to snap in half like a rubber band.

There was too many people touching you, they were rushing around you like a nest of buzzing bees, it was all just _too much_ -

You were snatched out of their grip and held aloft, clinging desperately to the one person that no one would dare to take you away from.

"Okay, you've had your fun," Nurse said, her voice lined with a disapproving lilt. "Now back off."

Grumbling, the rest of the soldiers began to slowly return to their seats, and you watched them go with a dazed expression.

It really had been too long since you were last at the Base - they had entirely overwhelmed you. Before, you would have been able to easily wriggle out of their grip, but you'd been caught immediately off-guard.

"T-Thanks, Nurse," you said, still feeling slightly stunned by what had just happened. "I, uh... Well, I guess I was expecting that, but I wasn't ready for it by any means."

"Yeah, that was obvious," Nurse chuckled, moving her grip on you so that the two of you were at eye level. "Doing alright there, champ?"

"Better," you said honestly. You figured that you looked something like a misbehaving kitten right now, being held by the scruff of your neck. The image was impossible to wave off, considering that Nurse was nearly two feet taller than you.

She placed you back down on your feet, leaving you to wobble in place for a moment. But you stabilized after only a second, beaming up at her.

"It's good to see you again!"

And, damn, it really was. If there was anyone that you missed in this place, it would be her.

Nurse smiled back at you, her expression softening. There was an advantage to being seen as the baby of the group, at least.

"You too, Rookie. Been taking care of yourself?" Her tone, while mild, was still something that made you wince.

"As well as I can," you answered, shrugging. It was hard times out there for someone with a black hole for a stomach.

The skin around her eyes tightened, a faint frown on her face, but she nodded in acceptance. She understood.

Back in the War, Nurse had been the most efficient force in getting all of you treatment. No one dared to go against her iron rule. But now... Now, there really wasn't much that she could do.

It probably wasn't easy for her, to see all of this suffering and being unable to really do anything about it. Hell, it was hard for you - with her profession, it had to be ten times worse.

Still, she did everything she could, with the limited resources she had. Like right now, saving you from a crazed mob.

"C'mon, Rookie," Nurse said, slinging a careful arm over your shoulder as she made her way to the buffet area. "Let's get some food. After that, I think there's some folks around who want to catch up with you."

You took a quick glance to the side, wincing. Yep, that was definitely the case - your 'cousins' were eyeing you ravenously, only hovering along the edges of their respectful circle because of Nurse's presence.

If you were any lesser, you'd probably be afraid for your life. As it was, you were mainly just exasperated.

"What, are you guys wolves?" You said grumpily, rising your voice so that everyone could hear you.

"Woof," Tanner answered from the front entrance, a sly grin on his face. No doubt, everyone's favorite Sniper had positioned himself to be the last resort to stop you from leaving.

Clever. Damnit.

"We're just excited to see you again!" Hannah chirped, though it did nothing to hide the greed in her eyes. "And to know what you've been up to, of course."

Of course.

Fuck - that was one thing that you didn't miss about the Military; they were all insatiable gossips.

"I haven't been doing anything too interesting," you said warily, backing up a step as they all moved closer.

"Oh, we'll be the judge of that," Hannah said, her grin made entirely out of teeth.

Gulping, you looked back up at Nurse, who only smiled.

It seemed that there was no escape, not from this. But, considering the fact that you were pretty much their only access to the outside world, you couldn’t really blame them.

And despite all of your complaints, you found that you didn’t mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: hey, are you guys, like, okay?? what the heck happened while i was gone?  
> literally everyone on base: what are talking about? we just missed you a lot!!  
> reader: What Did You Do
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! i reblogged a new piece of fanart there, and it’s absolutely amazing, you should definitely check it out! love y'all <3


	49. and then you'll make his bride!

Well, Papyrus wasn't sure about anybody else, but he was having a perfectly marvelous time!

For one, there was free food, which he was always in favor of. For another, he was the tallest one here, which he enjoyed subtly lording over the others, both literally and metaphorically.

Of course, not everyone was having a wonderful evening. That was rather par for the course of these events, so Papyrus just counted himself lucky that no fights had broken out yet.

Razz, scowling by the punch bowl with a particularly foul expression, seemed like he was in the mood to change that.

Nudging his brother on the arm, letting him know what he was up to, Papyrus rose to his feet, happily enjoying the way Stretch hid a scowl at the way the action revealed his monstrous (ha) height, and walked at a brisk pace to meet up with his brother's counterpart.

Razz quite obviously saw his approach, but to his credit, his frown only deepened for a split-second before it smoothed back out into a more neutral expression.

"HELLO, RAZZ!" he said cheerfully, standing just far enough away that he wasn't looming over the other. "HOW ARE YOU DOING ON THIS FINE EVENING?"

Razz inclined his head, still valiantly attempting to hide his irritation. 

"I'M WELL, RUS," he said, though the tightness of his voice made it obvious that he wasn't doing  _ that _ well. "AND YOU?"

Papyrus smiled back down at him, reflexively. Razz was one of the only ones who had accepted his and his brother's choice of nicknames without comment, so he supposed that he could give the other some slack, even if just for that.

"OH, JUST FINE," he answered. Then, he went straight ahead into the real reason he'd come over here for - which he was sure Razz had been anticipating as well. "AND YOUR ROOMMATE? I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT WE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE."

Razz's mouth tipped downward for a single moment, and he quickly took a sip of his drink to hide the lapse in control.

"JUST FINE," he said in a neutral tone. "THOUGH NOT OUR ROOMMATE ANY LONGER, I'M AFRAID. THAT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE A TEMPORARY SOLUTION, OF COURSE."

"I SEE..." Papyrus said, thoughtful. Judging by the way Razz's grip on his glass had tightened, he wasn't particularly happy about that change, no matter how 'temporary' he had known it to be. "I'M SORRY TO HEAR THAT."

His expression grew flat. "LIKE I SAID,  _ TEMPORARY." _

Papyrus only hummed, and proceeded to help himself to the punch, allowing Razz some time to gather his thoughts.

Papyrus, himself, was considered to be from a 'dark' timeline. He wasn't quite sure about that descriptor, since there was a marked difference between Horrortale and some of the other 'dark' timelines, but he at least knew enough about the horrors of the world to see its impact on others. 

He interacted with Edge the most, out of the counterparts, and it was obvious that his time in the Underground had impacted him in a life-altering way. Now, observing Razz as he was, he could see it in him too.

It was different, of course; for all that they had some similarities in their styles and tone of speech, Razz and Edge had diametrically opposed personalities. Though it would be hard to see unless you knew both of them, Edge was much more open with his sense of humor, and was kind in a way that Razz wasn't. Razz had his moments of gentleness, but they weren't as easy to see as Edge's.

Papyrus, however, could see them just fine. And he knew that Razz cared deeply about you, whether he was willing to admit it or not.

And he also knew that behavior could become dangerous, if it was left unchecked. Usually, he would trust Razz's self-control on these matters, or trust Slim to help keep his brother in check, but...

Yours and Razz's visit to the Horrortale household had made it obvious that Razz's control was not as ironclad as he might have preferred. And though Slim always followed his brother’s lead on things like this, Papyrus suspected that Slim might have been more of an active participant than he had first thought.

"WELL," Papyrus said, purposefully casual. "YOU STILL LIVE IN THE SAME CITY, RIGHT? WHEN WE GET BACK, THE THREE OF YOU SHOULD COME VISIT."

It wasn't really a request, and Razz knew it. Thankfully, he didn't seem too mad, an almost rueful smile creeping up on his face. He probably knew exactly what Papyrus was doing, and had realized that it would be for the best to go along with it.

And it was, definitely. Papyrus didn't often go to the extent of getting his brother involved, since Sans was still a horrible goblin creature that knew no restraint, but it was remarkably helpful for solving his problems, so he was willing to make an exception. Besides, considering the silly guilt factor that almost all copies of his brother held, they could hardly deny him anything to begin with.

"OF COURSE," Razz said, resigned, and seeming a bit amused by it. "SOUNDS LOVELY."

"WHAT'S LOVELY?" Another voice cut in, and that was when Papyrus noticed him - Papyrus, the 'original'.

He actually lived in the area that the reunion was being held in, and had been making his rounds eagerly, ever the social butterfly. It seemed that he had heard the tail end of their conversation, so Papyrus quickly brought him up to speed.

His expression only grew more delighted as Papyrus told him that Razz had brought someone along with his investigation, seeming to think of it as more of a field trip than anything else.

Paps (it was still hard to think of someone else with his name and face), clasped his hands together, looking at Razz with almost literal sparkles in his eyelights.

"OH, RAZZ, THAT'S WONDERFUL! I'M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT YOU'VE MADE A FRIEND," he said indulgently, sounding like a proud mother.

Razz, faintly exasperated, only nodded his head in thanks. But when he spoke, his voice was fond.

"WELL, I AM LUCKY." He then took a big sip of his drink, clearly preparing himself for something. Then, purposefully casual, he spoke. "AS A WENDIGO, MY COMPANION HAS HAD MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR CRUELTY, AND CHOSEN KINDNESS EVERY TIME. I CONSIDER MYSELF VERY BLESSED, AND I AM CONTINUALLY GLAD THAT MY BROTHER INTRODUCED US."

Papyrus cut a glance at his companion, but didn't comment. Well, at least that helped to explain how his brother had seemed so comfortable around you. Like recognizes like, after all.

"AH, YES, THE WENDIGOS!" Paps said, smile growing. "THEY'RE ALL QUITE NICE! VERY BAD AT STEALTH, OF COURSE, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ALL INSIST ON WEARING THOSE FAKE MUSTACHES, BUT EVERY TIME WE'VE TALKED THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN PERFECTLY PLEASANT!"

Okay,  _ that _ was enough to make Papyrus stare in disbelief.

"...WHAT?"

Paps just cocked his skull to the side, as if unsure why they were confused. 

"THE WENDIGOS!" He repeated, like that would cause his previous statements to make any more sense. "A FAIRLY LARGE GROUP OF THEM LIVE AT THE MILITARY BASE NEARBY. THEY COME OUT TO TOWN SOMETIMES, THOUGH I SUSPECT THAT THEY TECHNICALLY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO. LIKE I SAID, THEY'RE VERY AWFUL AT DISGUISING THEMSELVES."

Razz straightened up, his face eager. Sans - the original one, who had followed after his brother with a sedate pace, straightened as well, though he didn't seem nearly as pleased. Papyrus couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this. 

"OH? PLEASE, TELL ME MORE."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wendigos: what?? no! we never leave base, we don't have permission!  
> ut!papyrus: *casually rats them out*  
> wendigos: ... okay who fucked up
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	50. if you don't want to die!

"So, uh... What have you guys been up to?" you said awkwardly, feeling very much surrounded.

That would make sense, considering you were being crowded into your spot at the table by nearly twenty other officers. They were all staring at you with hungry eyes, and if it wasn't for the fact that you were literally in the dining hall, you might have been concerned for your safety.

"Oh, this and that," Hannah said breezily. "Made some new friends, had some laughs. You know."

"...New friends?" you said, raising a brow. "That's, uh, cool. How did you meet?"

Immediately, Hannah froze, her expression becoming strained. Her eyes darted over to Nurse, who studiously looked down at her food, not commenting.

"On... the internet," Hannah mumbled, lying so obviously that you almost wanted to laugh.

"Really?" You propped your hand underneath your chin, giving her a teasing glance. "And here I thought that you said the internet was, and I quote; 'A hellscape which enables people to act on their worst impulses without consequences'."

Hannah huffed, cheeks reddening slightly. "Well, I said the same thing about color tv, so history has managed to prove me wrong before."

"A blessing for us all, considering nothing else has ever managed to," Tanner interjected, leaning away from Hannah's retaliatory smack and continuing to eat his food with a grin.

You let out an amused huff, looking away to hide your smile. These guys...

Even though it had been literal  _ years _ since you'd seen them in person, you were fitting back in like nothing had changed at all. It was like they'd left an open spot for you all this time, and they'd just been waiting for you to come back and reclaim it. 

The thought gave you more warmth than it probably should, considering how much they liked to tease you.

"Still, though, that's a good thing," you commented, pausing to begin tearing into your chicken wing with gusto. "Even if you're sneaking off base, having more friends is always a good thing."

Hannah, who had just begun gnawing on a piece of jerky, almost choked, coughing abruptly as she tried to clear her throat.

_ "Sneaking??" _ she squeaked, eyes darting away in a hilariously criminal gesture. "Who's sneaking? Off base? I would never!"

She gave the rest of the table a pleading look, trying to get someone to come to her defense, but there was no takers. Nurse rolled her eyes, and Tanner just smirked before turning to address you.

"Yeah, we try to get out about once a week," he said casually, ignoring Hannah's angry screech. "Captain knows about it, obviously, but he pretends not to."

"He always asks me to get him some of those fancy candles he likes, so I don't think he's too against it," Nurse spoke up, grinning down at Hannah when she turned her despairing eyes on the taller wendigo.

You chuckled, picturing the serious request Captain must give. He probably would have filed paperwork for it, if it wasn't supposed to be 'off the books'. Well, that probably helps to explain why his office had been filled with candles earlier when you went to visit.

"It's fine, Hannah, seriously," you soothed, grin twitching as she let out a deep sigh. "Y'know I don't care. Honestly, I'm happy for you. I never thought it was a good idea for all of us to stay cooped up in here."

"Well,  _ you're _ not cooped up," she returned sharply, before looking almost taken-aback with her own words.

Silence reigned over the table for a long moment. You... really didn't know what to say to that. She was right, obviously. But no one had ever really displayed any...  _ displeasure _ towards that fact, before.

"...Sorry," Hannah muttered, staring down at her plate. "It's just... getting harder."

You could only nod.

"Tell me about your new friends," you said, deciding to pivot topics and not dwell on this any longer. "What are they like?"

At that, Hannah perked up, and even Tanner lost his smirk to have something of a more genuine smile.

"Oh, they're great!" she gushed, Nurse and Tanner both nodding along. "You would love them, Rookie. We met some really cool Undergrounders - "

"My favorite bar is run by a guy named Grillby, he's  _ smokin'," _ Tanner interrupted, giving you an exaggerated eyebrow-waggle to emphasize what you could only assume was a truly awful pun.

" - And there's also a skeleton that I'm going to marry," Hannah continued, too used to Tanner interjecting himself into all her conversations to be bothered by it.

But, the idea of a skeleton was able to easily catch your attention. 

"Really? Marriage, already?" You teased, enjoying her pout. "I think we're gonna need to vet this guy first, who knows what his credentials are?"

"No, I'm not letting  _ any _ of you near him," she denied, crossing her arms over her chest. "You'll scare him off! He's very nice, and he works at the bookstore. He doesn't know anything about... any of  _ this, _ so don't try anything!"

"Alright, fine," you said, though you and Tanner shared a glance when she wasn't looking, silently agreeing to interrogate this skeleton at the first opportunity. "What's his name? And where does he work again? Y'know, so I can make sure to avoid him."

Hannah gave you a suspicious look, and sniffed, turning away. "His name is Honda, and he works at the bookstore on Main. So, don't go near him! I mean it!"

"Of course," you lied. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Well, I doubt you would get the chance, anyway," Nurse said, drawing your attention back to the task at hand. "We were going to sneak out tonight, but with the inspection going on..."

"We have no idea if we'll be able to leave the base again," Tanner finished grimly.

You tensed. The use of the word 'if' there was pretty threatening.

"Does anyone know why they wanted me, specifically? I have, like a job," you said. "I was really lucky that I could drop everything and come by here. My boss won't be happy if I just disappear on her."

Not to mention all of the other connections you had in the city. You might not have been able to get a perfectly normal life, but you had  _ a life, _ and you weren't ready to give that up just yet.

"Well, hopefully it won't come to that," Nurse sighed.

Which was, in all honesty, not entirely comforting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: hey, so,,, are things going to be okay?  
> nurse: probably not  
> reader: that's, uh, not too groovy
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	51. as you know predestination

When the Captain finally appeared, it was in a whirlwind of scented candles and bad temper. He was a short man, even after the...  _ enhancements _ that you all had been given, but his height had never detracted from his leadership ability, or the fact that he could terrify you with a single look.

"Private," he barked, causing the whole room to silence from the good-natured ruckus that had been going on before.  _ "Come here." _

You stood without a word, leaving your now-subdued comrades and internally writing your last will and testament, which was an entirely appropriate reaction and not at all dramatic.

He lead you into his office without a word, making his way to sit behind his desk, just like Mason had in what felt like so long ago.

"I want you to be prepared," Captain said. "They'll be here tomorrow." 

You didn't have to ask who. When he turned to face you, he held his head high, relaying orders just as he always had. 

For a second, just one  _ split-second, _ you couldn't help but hate him for it.

"They have some questions about you," the Captain said, face carefully blank. "I wasn't told anything solid... But it seems like they think it's about time for this little  _ experiment _ to be over."

Your breath caught in your throat. "...What?"

Captain looked at you, eyes piercing. 

"They tried to have a Wendigo out 'living in the wild'. Experiencing their 'natural habitat', along with the rest of civilization." His lips thinned, and you didn't know if it was for the insult you had been delivered, or his own opinion on the matter. "By their estimation, it was a failure. As such, it's about time to stop wasting resources on such a useless measure."

You didn't... you didn't know  _ what to say. _ What  _ could _ you even say to that?

"Sir..." you said helplessly, hands fluttering in front of you in some approximation of a pleading gesture. It was entirely against regulation, but for once, the Captain didn't call you out on it.

"Go to your quarters," he said finally. His hands were shadowing his expression. You knew, then - in this, there was nothing he could do to help you. 

You were on your own.

You went to your quarters.

...

"What happened?" Nurse demanded, immediately hovering by your side when you walked through the door. "Are the Feds here?"

"I - what?" you managed to stutter out, caught completely off-guard. "Why are you  _ in my room _ \- "

"Woah, they've got you rattled, huh?" Tanner said sympathetically, almost making you jump out of your skin.

He was standing directly behind you, and must have been lurking by your door like a  _ creep. _

"Normally, you would have noticed us before you got within twenty paces," Hannah pointed out, lounging on your bed as if she didn't have anywhere better to be. "Are you okay?"

You weren't okay. You were  _ not okay, _ and you didn't know if you ever would be again. Fuck, maybe that was an exaggeration, but you were quite  _ literally _ shaking in your boots, and you just didn't know what the hell you were supposed to be doing anymore. 

Captain didn't know everything that was going on, but he knew that he couldn't help you. Mason was seemingly slipping more by the day, and the fact that you were the only Wendigo who stayed off-base meant that you (and subsequently, everyone around you) were the obvious targets. You were probably going to be fired from your job for suddenly leaving all the fucking time, and all your friends were either gone or trying not to get murdered by rogue hunters wandering the city. 

It felt like the whole stack of cards was collapsing around you, and you could do nothing but watch.

This was turning out to be, honestly, the worst month of your entire fucking life, and you had literally been drafted into World War II, and then  _ died. _ And then been resurrected.

And this was  _ worse. _

When you explained this to your cousins (your _family,_ god, hadn't you all been through enough?), Hannah's face became surprisingly sympathetic, and Nurse's expression was unreadable, distant in that way that she got when she was thinking about all the evils in the world and all the ways that they ~~didn't couldn't~~ _refused_ to change.

Tanner just got angry.

"Okay, y'know what?!" Tanner said, throwing his arms up into the air. "Fuck this. Fuck these guys, fuck the government, fuck  _ everything. _ Let's just go out tonight like we planned."

"That... Seems like a bad idea," you observed, trying to keep your voice neutral. To be honest, it was sounding like a fucking  _ fantastic _ idea right now. Anything to take your mind off of the anxiety that was trying to eat you alive.

"Honestly, at this point? How much worse could things get," he said dryly.

Fair enough.

...

Sans was... Well, he was scheming. There was really no better word for it.

"SO, HOW OFTEN DO YOU SEE THEM?" he said casually, leaning against the drinks table as he interrogated the 'original' Papyrus. He wasn't even attempting to be subtle about it - this Papyrus wasn't his brother, but he knew better than to assume that any Papyrus was stupid. 

"WHO, THE WENDIGOS?" Paps said, tilting his skull in a confused motion. "WELL, IT USED TO BE ABOUT ONCE A WEEK. THEY'VE BEEN COMING LESS LATELY, THOUGH."

"DO THEY HAVE A NORMAL TIME THAT THEY ARRIVE?" Sans said, mind racing. "ANY TYPICAL SCHEDULE, HERE?"

Paps' eyelights shrunk for a moment, before reforming back to normal. "...YES. THEY'RE USUALLY OUT AT NIGHT, ON TUESDAYS OR FRIDAYS. SINCE TODAY IS FRIDAY, AND THEY WEREN'T AROUND ON TUESDAY, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THEY'RE IN TOWN..."

Sans knew that it must seem strange and out-of-character for him to be so invested in some random monsters that he had never met before, but...

He had to know more. Sans knew about Wendigos, yes, but  _ not enough. _ He knew what you had (reluctantly) told him, and he knew the little that he had managed to scrounge up from sources online or in print, which were very rarely helpful; he wasn't willing to ask you if all the sources were legitimate, and some of them were just blatantly racist concerning the early reports and legends of Wendigos made by Native Americans. 

Sans didn't want to ask you about it - you had made it clear that it wasn't something you were entirely comfortable with, and you had every right to feel that way. But if he could get his hands on  _ another _ Wendigo...

He might be able to find some way to make things easier for you, to help you.  _ Anything. _

Sans smirked, glancing over the small assembly of skeletons around him, in their own little bubble, separate from the rest of the party. The 'original' Sans was there too, staring at him suspiciously, but Sans knew just what to say to make him agree.

"WELL, WHAT DO YOU SAY WE GET OUT OF HERE AND SEE IF WE CAN MEET PAPS' FRIENDS?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: haha! my life is a wreck! who's ready to party?!?  
> all the wendigos: fuck yeah!!
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	52. from the day of your creation

"Hey, so, y'know how I said this seemed like a shitty idea?"

"You said 'bad idea', but yes."

"Well, this is  _ absolutely _ a shitty idea and I am in full support," you said, fighting to keep your voice down as your smile threatened to split across your face.

There was about ten of you there, the majority of your cousins choosing to stay behind in order to distract the soldiers on base. It was you, Hannah, Nurse, Tanner, Sly, Nick, Leon, Matteo, King, and Lt. Mason.

King was a mountain of a man that had only gotten bigger after your, uh, 'transition', but he was quiet, and he always managed to go unnoticed. There had been many a time when it was his intimidating bulk lurking behind you that had managed to scare off any assholes who wanted to try and test their luck. Sly was the opposite - short and whipcord thin, but with a personality big enough that it could fill up any room. It really hadn't been a surprise when the two of them had gotten together, back in the 90's. Honestly, you had been surprised that it took them that long.

Leon, Matteo, and Nick were standing behind you right now, whispering to each other about all the shit they were planning on pulling tonight. The Three Musketeers (as they were always referred to, sometimes with fondness and sometimes decidedly  _ not) _ had been demolition experts back in the day, and they spent most of their time now trying to figure out exactly how many explosives were allowed in their present company. So far, the answer had always been 'as many as possible before the Captain finds out'.

Honestly, some part of you could understand why the government wouldn't be too keen to have all of you roaming around the country with no supervision - the entire squad was often described as a menace, at best.

But, still. Fuck that.

Just as you were starting to get worked up over this bullshit all over again, a slim arm wrapped around your shoulders, tugging you downwards.

"Hey, don't look so glum, chum," Sly said, winking as they pulled you down towards their level. "This is gonna be a fun night!"

"Yeah, maybe the last one we ever get," you said gloomily. 

Sly rolled their eyes, squeezing your shoulder. 

"It's only gonna be the last if we let it," they advised. When you looked over to them, you saw the way their eyes were watching you in sympathy, even as they smiled. "And we're not gonna let that happen. Don't worry, kiddo."

Almost without your input, you found yourself relaxing, standing a little straighter. Glancing around at the group gathered close to you, you couldn't imagine this ever changing.

But. It  _ had _ changed.

It had only been a couple of decades since the last time you'd seen everyone in person, but they were all looking drawn. Exhausted.  _ Thin. _

When Leon ran in front of you, heading for the break in the treelike with a gleeful shout, his jacket lifted up for a moment - and underneath it, you could see the outline of his ribs.

Unconsciously, your hands clenched into fists.

You'd grown up in the Great Depression. You remembered what it was like to be so poor that it felt like a  _ war _ was the only thing that could possibly change things now.

You remembered that just fine, you had never wanted to  _ relive _ it.

Sighing, Sly stepped away, giving you one last pat on the back.

"I mean it," they said, giving you a steady look. "Just relax, okay? Have some fun. Go find a nice bed to sleep in for the night."

You furrowed your brows, mouth opening to ask what the hell they were talking about, when the implication hit you; you snapped your mouth shut, cheeks heating up as you glared at your cousin in embarrassment.

Sly only cackled, bounding over to walk with their husband, latching onto King's side and grinning cheekily up at him. King only rolled his eyes and drew Sly closer to him, indulgent as always.

Still, though - Sly was right. You would never say it out-loud, but they were right. If there was ever a time to worry about this, it wouldn't be tonight.

Right now, you were just going to relax and have some fun, even if it killed you.

Actually - that reminded you!

"Hey, Hannah!" You called out, jogging to catch up with her and Tanner, the latter of whom gave you a conspiratory grin. "How late is that bookstore open again?"

"Don't even think about it!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," you lied, giving Tanner a high-five from behind her back.

Hannah glanced back at the two of you, frowning suspiciously, but when the two of you acted as innocent as possible, she merely sniffed in disdain and turned to face front. 

"Well, you  _ better _ not," she said, her tone just shy of a threat. "Because we're about to hit Main Street."

The others all perked up, coming to huddle around the three of you in a loose circle.

"Split up?" Nurse suggested.

Everyone agreed, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Leon immediately ran towards a Diner at the end of the street, leaving Matteo and Nick to follow after him with identical exasperated expressions. 

"Leon's got the hots for the night waitress there," Matteo explained as he jogged past, giving the rest of the group a sloppy salute. "Don't wait up! We'll be there all night as he fails to flirt with the poor girl, so expect us back later!"

You chuckled, saluting him back as the three vanished, and Nurse peeled off afterwards to head towards the shopping center, probably looking for another candle to bribe the Captain with. Sly dragged King towards the park, cooing something about a 'romantic walk', but the sheer size of the blush on King's face was enough to tell you that you didn't really want to know. Mason had disappeared somewhere when you weren’t looking - as was typical. Jackass. 

Soon enough, it was just you, Tanner, and Hannah left.

Hannah looked resigned at this point - she obviously knew what was coming. 

"Honda's not going to be on shift for another hour," she pointed out, trying a last-ditch effort. "There's really no point hanging around here until then - "

"Then let's go to the bar first," Tanner said, hooking his arms through yours' and Hannah's to drag you both along. "I wanna introduce you to Grillby, Rookie! He's  _ real _ hot."

"I know that you're making a pun, but the fact that I don't know the context just makes it irritating," you complained, though inside your head you were a bit puzzled.

You had  _ definitely _ heard that name before. Where...?

The thought was lost to you as soon as you went through the door, eyes widening.

Monsters. The customers were all  _ monsters _ \- Surfacers and Undergrounders alike! This was  _ not _ the kind of thing that you typically saw on just any old street corner; there was a group of dogs wearing fancy armor playing poker by the bar, a guy made entirely out of a brilliant red flame behind the counter (oh, that was probably the aforementioned Grillby), a pair of gorgons with matching headscarves, there was even a ghoul over by the jukebox! Seriously, there was  _ everyone! _ Witches, werewolves, imps, skeletons -

Wait - skeletons?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sly: go find a nice bed to sleep in for the night!  
> reader: and how the fuck do you expect me to do that out here in the middle of nowhere??  
> reader: *sees a skeleton*  
> reader: never mind, i found it
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	53. has determined your vocation

You couldn't have stopped the smile from spreading across your face if you tried.

"Rus!"

You were over by his side in an instant, almost shaking from excitement as the tall skeleton turned to look at you.

His eyelights widened immediately upon noticing you, then his face split in an enormous grin.

"MY FRIEND!" he boomed, standing and snatching you up in a backbreaking embrace. "WE WERE JUST SPEAKING OF YOU!"

"You were?" you managed to choke out. Your smile was still glued in place, utterly thrilled. "Who else is here?"

Rus gently placed you back down, though his large hands remained on your shoulders so that he could spin you around to face the rest of the group he had with him.

It was - it was  _ Sans. _

You didn't even register the other skeletons that were around, eyes immediately locking onto your friend. 

Rather smugly, he nodded his hello, raising his drink to salute you.

"MY, IT'S BEEN A WHILE," Sans said, eyelights twinkling with amusement at seeing your fidgeting posture. "I DO HOPE YOU'VE BEEN STAYING OUT OF TROUBLE?"

"Of course not," you said, taking a step closer. You were standing directly next to their booth now, leaning against the edge of the table. "C'mon man, it's like you don't even know me."

Sans chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "TRUE ENOUGH."

You were nearly vibrating in place, wanting to hug Sans but also knowing him well enough to realize that he wouldn't enjoy it in this setting. So, instead, you were just left awkwardly hovering next to him, fumbling with your hands as you tried to calm yourself.

For just a second, there was a smile on his face - a real one, and he reached out to gently touch your hand.

"CALM DOWN," he said, clear amusement leaking into his tone. "COME, SIT. I'LL BUY YOU SOME FOOD."

Needless to say, you sat down. Rus returned to his seat as well, and you ended up sandwiched between the two skeletons, both gazing at you with the sort of happiness that made you feel like bouncing in place.

Thankfully, you managed to hold it together, because that was when a polite cough was heard, and you blinked as you turned to see the other pair of skeletons sitting across from you.

It was the usual pair - one tall, one short. A Papyrus and a Sans. You didn't know them, unfortunately, but it was never too late to introduce yourself!

"Oh, hi!" you said, feeling yourself settle down a bit from the embarrassment. "Sorry, I, uh, didn't see you there. You guys are, uh, Sans and Papyrus, I'm guessing?"

The Sans raised an eyebrow at you, making you start sweating internally, but the Papyrus only smiled, nodding emphatically.

"WE ARE INDEED!" he exclaimed, the energy familiar and almost soothing. "YOU MAY REFER TO ME AS PAPS! MY BROTHER IS SANS."

"Ah... okay?" You said, still smiling, though you were a little confused. You'd thought that all of them had chosen different nicknames in order to differentiate themselves. Paps was  _ kind _ of a nickname, but...

By your side, Sans (should you be referring to him as Razz? you supposed so), nudged you on the arm, and you leaned down so he could whisper into your ear.

"Those two are the originals," he murmured, just loud enough for you to hear. "This is their timeline."

Oh.  _ That _ explained it.

You nodded your understanding, straightening to look back at them.

Paps was happily digging into his salad, but Sans was just staring at you. It was, uh, pretty unnerving. He was smiling, but it seemed like that was more his resting face than anything else. He didn't seem entirely too happy to see you, anyway.

"So, uh, why are y'all here, anyway?" You said suddenly, needing something to break the tension. "I thought you were at the - oh, is the reunion around here somewhere?"

Rus nodded, carefully swallowing a bite of his burger before continuing. "YES, THE BUILDING IS RIGHT OUTSIDE TOWN! SANS AND PAPS LIVE HERE FULL-TIME, THOUGH."

"Cool, cool." You nodded, trying to remain casual about this. "So, uh, how's everything going?"

"OH, IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL!" Paps said, and there was an honest smile on his face this time. "IT IS ALWAYS NICE TO CATCH UP."

"That's great," you said, sitting a bit straighter. And you  _ did _ genuinely mean it - from the way Snipe and the others had reacted, the reunion wasn't gonna be much of a fun time, so if there was even a little bit of happiness involved, you would count that as a good thing. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE, THEN?" Razz jumped in, and you almost started sweating at the feeling of his penetrating gaze on you. "I KNOW YOU SAID THAT YOU WEREN'T IN EBOTT."

"Oh, um," you stuttered, searching for an excuse. You'd told Razz before that it was 'classified', but you were already breaking so many rules right now, what did it even matter? "I'm, uh... visiting my cousins. I actually came in here with - "

You cut yourself off, a shock running through your veins.  _ Shit, _ Hannah and Tanner! 

"Excuse me," you said hastily, standing up to get a look at the rest of the bar over Rus' head. You head to stretch yourself out a bit, but you managed to get a clear view after a moment.

Tanner was by the bar, making gooey eyes at the bartender (who wasn't paying him the least bit of attention), and Hannah appeared to be drowning her sorrows in three chocolate milkshakes. Neither of them seemed the slightest bit concerned about where you'd gone.

Letting out a huff of laughter, you settled back down, feeling rather foolish for the panic.

"Sorry," you said, fingers tapping against the tabletop as you tried to hide your embarrassment. "I actually came here with a couple of my cousins, and I totally didn't tell them anything before I rushed over here. I just panicked for a second, my bad."

Rus patted your shoulder, and you felt Razz discreetly squeeze your knee in a comforting motion.

"NO NEED TO WORRY!" Rus said. "WE UNDERSTAND. HERE, HAVE A FRY!"

You gratefully helped yourself to the portion he shoved your way, letting your contradicting emotions settle.

You were just here to have a good time. This wasn't the place to talk about all the shit that had been going on - you were just going to enjoy yourself while you can.

"BY THE WAY, I LIKE YOUR MUSTACHE," Paps said cheerfully.

For the first time, Sans actually broke his gaze away from where he had been (ominously) staring at you, lifting a hand to snicker into his palm.

You felt yourself flush with embarrassment, especially after you heard the near-silent shaking coming from Razz, beside you.

"Thanks," you managed to get out, face burning. "It's, uh, tradition."

You just knew that Hannah and Tanner were laughing at you from the other end of the bar. You were gonna  _ kill _ them when this was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reader: !!! friend!!  
> razz: calm down, weirdo  
> razz, internally: i would die for you, okay? i would Die for this little idiot -
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


End file.
